


Her Reign is for...

by FaintSoftly



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies), Disney - All Media Types
Genre: Abusive Parents, Adjust, Angst, Audrey and Uma are Actually Friends, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Ben is Less Useless, Bitterness, Caring Uma (Disney), Everyone Needs A Hug, Evie likes More than Fashion, F/M, Fairy Tale Curses, Female Anti-Hero, Fluff, Gen, Gil is a Sweet Baby, Hades is Not Mal's Dad, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Isle of the Lost (Disney) is a Terrible Place, Magic, Minor Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, References to Depression, Scheming, Tags May Change, Uma is a Demigod, United States of Auradon (Disney), United States of Auradon (Disney) Is Not Perfect
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-06
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2020-06-22 04:46:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 42,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19660111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaintSoftly/pseuds/FaintSoftly
Summary: The Sea Three are still on The Isle, along with many villain kids. They're trying their best to get by, living the way they always have. Until a fateful announcement spreads through the Isle faster than wildfire. Things are changing. That's new.This story takes place where Descendants 2 would have begun, meaning that it has been 6 months since The Core Four have been selected to go to Auradon Prep. This is just King Ben doing what he said and actually bringing more VKs over. Featuring: Realistic reactions!





	1. Technicolor Fortune Teller

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter Summary: Uma and Gil are spending quality time together at the shop, closing up when something absolutely unprecedented happens. Gil is the sweetest of boys and this whole chapter is from Gil's perspective because I feel like we don't see that often. I wouldn't really consider this a "Fix It". but more of a "What If" type of story. With, of course, my own stuff tossed in.

Gil hadn’t returned home in days, he knew that the place his father and brothers stayed was what he was meant to consider his home, but if he was honest with himself from time to time, he knew that his real home was with Uma and the rest of The Crew. He was never so sure what made the Lost Revenge and the Chip Shoppe home while the place where his family was never seemed to fit the word as easily. He leaned against the counter, pressing his elbows into the splintering and rotting wood of its surface as he waited for Uma to finish closing up shop. He always offered to help her with something different and sometimes she refused, others she didn’t. When he dropped in, she assured him that no help was needed from him with dishes. Too delicate. 

He stared intently at the old television set as it flickered in with Auradon’s news channel, it was the only channel that anyone could receive on the Isle. Typically, the customers were much louder than the volume of the meek television which left Gil with nothing but the pictures to observe. When the shop was empty he could hear it all. Even over the sound of clattering dishes and running water. He always admired how bright it all was. The princes and princesses and their friends and even the ladies who would relay the news seemed happy even if they were doing a job. He didn’t know a single person like that in real life. In fact, it wasn’t often that he saw people look happy at all. Uma taught him not to look happy unless it was to mock someone else. Happiness is something people can take from you. He peered over his shoulder at the chairs and tables, all dilapidated and faltering in one way or another. The air was heavy with the smell of old fish and the color of it all seemed so gray in comparison to the jovial, vibrant figures upon the screen. Even when there seemed to be bad news of a sort, it never looked too detrimental to him. 

“Uma. How come the people in Auradon always look so happy?”

Silence, nothing more than the sound of running water. Gill toyed with his necklace, figuring she didn’t care to answer, sometimes (most times) talking about Auradon made Uma upset in one fashion or another and she would simply avoid the topic altogether on some days. Then the water shut off and the dull thunk of heels against wooden floors approached. Uma looked tired, he noted, she didn’t seem annoyed yet. Her face was more still than anything, perhaps unenthused rather than bored or tranquil. She sauntered behind the other side of the counter before stopping in front of Gil and leaning back against the wall. 

“How come?” She repeated as she stretched her neck upward to glimpse at the screen above her. “It’s because they’re living the way people are supposed to live. With all nice things Gil. Fresh food every single day, clean clothes, magic, happy endings, the whole deal. If we had all that stuff, even over here, Well, we would be happy...happier. But we’re not. So don’t linger on it too much. You're too old for daydreams. Got it?” Gil nodded slowly as he processed all that she said. He furrowed his brow midway through processing and leaned forward. “Uma. What does linger mean?” She looked down at him, parting her lips either to release an exasperated sigh or to explain what she meant. Before she could do either she rapidly readjusted her gaze to the television. Snow White was making the report today. She stood, pale and smiling, microphone grasped in her hands. Her lipstick was a borderline oversaturated shade of cherry. “...we gain new news of what will happen with the infamous Isle of the Lost and its citizens going forward. As was announced this afternoon, due to the gleaming success of the relocation of four children of the Isle’s most notorious villains, more children will be on their way! I have King Ben here, hopefully he can give us more info. Your Majesty?” Gil hadn’t seen Uma look so shocked since the day Mal dumped that shrimp on her. Ben smiled in a sort of uncomfortable fashion as soon as Snow White shoved the microphone into his face. “I- There will be more villain kids arriving here in larger numbers within the next few weeks. There is a list, but I can’t disclose that right now.” Uma extended her arm and tapped the power button, the image vanished in mere seconds. 

“Come on Gil, we’re going. Back to the ship. Hurry up and don’t forget your sword in the bin.” Gil stood and followed after her with more normal strides in order to keep up with her. She gripped her sword with a tense hand and pushed the door open with the other. The door had been a barrier of its own, he hadn’t even noticed how loud it was outside until it swung open. Outside seemed louder than usual, because it was. The word ‘Auradon’ was escaping people’s lips left and right with each step through the dingy streets. Definitely a shift from the usual talk. Talking about Auradon usually made Uma upset. He figured this news was one of those times.


	2. The Strong can Prevail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The perspective of Harry as he goes through a few casual activities of nightlife. His opinion of the Auradon news...differs from Uma's because contrary to popular belief, Harry is allowed to disagree with Uma. Just not too loudly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Crappy Parents are present!

The night was foggy, chilly, dark with no moon, and overall, uninviting. Nothing much on the Isle was inviting. It was never shocking or tiresome, none of the young ones knew anything different and the young ones that became older hardly stopped to think of anything more than what was present. Harry prowled through the crowded alleyways, rotating his hook in his hand just to make it catch whatever scarce light bled through the windows. His posture was alert while being simultaneously relaxed, a sure-fire warning to anyone that felt the need to bother him with emboldened ideas of getting the jump on him and making an example for their own sort of personal gain, that they would end up with their hand attached to the opposite end of his hook. He looked confident, but not worried or anxious. Didn’t they (the general they since everyone said it) always say that even the weakest of animals could smell fear? 

Eventually, he was able to reach his own home and slink around the side of it, to his back window. He decided that there being no lights on was a good enough signal that he could head inside. He wasn’t even there for himself, he’d lost a simple bet with Harriet and promised to return to the house and grab something from it for her if he didn’t emerge victorious. He didn’t understand such terms, considering he knew for a fact that his father favored either one of his sisters over him on any and every given day. Still, everyone had their reasons he supposed. So, he slid the grimy, cracked glass window sideways and stepped onto a weak 3 legged table in front of him. The balance was key to not tilting the table in the wrong direction and ruining the entire stealth aspect of this mission. He left the window open once inside, seeing no point in closing it and hoping it would let some other brave idiots break into the house to give his father a hard time. The atmosphere felt indescribably claustrophobic, despite there being very few items in the entire space. There was a heavy weight crushing him with each step he took into the house. Perhaps this was why Harriet had wanted to send someone else in her place. Father may have preferred her, but it couldn't take the weight from the air. She could have sent any member of her crew, but he was there and that happened to be convenient enough for her. As he advanced, he felt like stones were being added to his pockets. Tied to his ankles and wrists. 

“A pirate doesn’t hide Boy. He takes what he wants.” Conceivably, this is what it feels like to be crushed by the pressure at the deepest points of the ocean. Harry sharply inhaled and straightened up, turning and instantly questioning how Hook had gotten so close without him noticing. Aside from the room being nearly pitch black even with the weak light from outside. “Father. Me? Not a pirate? I suppose that makes two of us since I don’t see you setting sail much anymore.” He tried to masquerade as a strong, dauntless man, not some insignificant boy cowering in fear of an old villainous has been. “Boy. Don’t mock me. I’m willing to bet you’re not even here for yourself. You’ve always been too obedient. Too eager to please. I knew that the day I gave you that hook. Does your brain have an automatic setting or does that filthy witch always need to give you a command?” Harry stood and listened with an expressionless look on the outside, but he was gritting his teeth and digging his nails into the handle of his hook. The stench of some cheap homemade alcohol wafting from the older man’s breath was unmistakable. He had lost to his father in a fight before. Brutally lost. Old, drunk, and mad as the man was, that malicious fighting spirit seemed to be something the Isle had only amplified. Harry was hotheaded, maybe a bit off from time to time, but he wasn’t stupid enough to walk right into a beating. “Ancient bastard.” Harry scoffed and turned to leave out of the front door seeing as his presence was already known. Harriet would have to come back herself. “Don’t walk away Boy. I’m trying to give you a bit of advice! If you were smart you could have it all in no time! Captain of a ship all your own. All you’d need to do is put your hands around her throat and squeeze. She’s so small at any rate. What’s a sea witch without magic? Nothing but a tiny problem. Not even worthy of a sword. If you were my son you wouldn’t need this advice. She-”

Harry left his house with a black eye and the entire left side of his face swollen. He should have known. Daft bastard. The walk back to the Lost Revenge felt almost dreamlike. He couldn’t hear anyone on the way and their shapes there like distorted blobs in his peripheral. In fact, there was a high pitched ringing in his left ear that was more persistent than the sorry excuse for a fight he put up. The ship was louder than usual and put an abrupt end to his state of dreaming. The first greeting once he was on board was the dispassionate voice of none other than his captain. “What happened to your face?” He flashed a toothy grin in response without missing a beat. “Like what you see? I know, it’s not every day you see a lad as handsome as me. Contain yourself.” Uma pursed her lips and crossed her arms, obviously not in the mood for banter. She placed a cool hand onto his cheek, he leaned into her hand by force of habit and closed his eyes. Nothing much on the Isle was inviting, but Uma was akin to the sea. Something beautiful and mysterious, yet he didn’t need to understand a bit of it to appreciate it. “At least you’re not down for the count. Not much we could do if you were. Look, have you heard the talk about Auradon yet?” Harry lamented the moment she pulled her hand away, looking at the uneven floorboards before nodding slowly. “ Yeah, I heard. On one of the working radios near Jafar’s place. You think we’re on the Prince’s little list? Took the fool long enough. I, for one, hope Boreadon will be able to show their gratitude when we grace their silly castles with our presence.”

“You think it’s that easy?”

“Don’t be cross Darling. Nothing’s ever easy, but I take opportunities when they present themselves.”

“I just...how dare they? They’ll waltz in here as if they’re saviors. It’s not them being righteous. It’s them fixing their own damn problems. I know I need to look at this as what the kids here need, but-”

“You don’t want their pity. Uma. Look at them.” He gestured to the rest of the crew milling about the ship, laughing, chattering, practicing their fighting. Each of them the child of a villain. All with a different story stemmed from the same beginning. “They’ll follow you anywhere you know. I know you want to give those Auradon brats a piece of your mind, but maybe wait to see if we cross the barrier? We all need this and we don’t have to be grateful to them. This was a long time coming. One way or another.” Uma scoffed and turned her back to him, if he could see her he knew she would have donned her thinking face. That sharp-eyed, stone-faced look she adopted whenever she needed to ponder or scheme. “...I know you're right.” It was almost like she could hear the boastful remark forming in his head because without a second to spare she added, “Take the compliment silently. Or you can run to Bonny with two black eyes.”

“Aye aye, Captain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is a reference to the little 'heart to heart' between Harry and Captain Hook. I know what you're thinking. "Two chapters back to back?" I'm in a pocket of a bit of free time and am trying to produce as many chapters as possible before my life gets painfully busy again and I have to move into a more realistic or even sporadic update schedule.
> 
> All that stuff aside, the mood of this story is me trying to maintain a sort of darker or rather, realistic tone. Naturally, Disney can't just show abusive parents left and right because that would be beyond problematic for a children's film, but we all know that with an environment as toxic as the Isle it definitely occurs. I always wondered how I could make Captain Hook feel about the fact that his only son is beneath some sea witch that he most likely feels is a ridiculous choice for a captain. Even though we ALL wish Harry had more self-control, he'll walk into a fight he knows is a losing one for Uma. I feel as though even if the parents aren't the focus of the story in any aspect, they do shape the children in one way or another so tiny glimpses from time to time are a must.
> 
> Also, I started the chapter with Harry away from Uma because even though Harry definitely depends on Uma, I wanted him to seem a tad more independent in my interpretation. As in, he does things on his own without prompting from Uma quite often, but he'll always be there if she needs him. 
> 
> Let me know what you think! Give me questions, comments, concerns, crying fits, or anything that may pop into your head!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	3. Check the Lineup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evie and Ben are entering crunch time as their window to make sure everything is perfectly in order for the villain kids' arrival in Auradon begins to close. It was enough of a stretch bringing 4 kids over the first time and now, all eyes are on them and the stability of their plans. Mal? Not too keen on more kids coming over. Shocking? Of course not!

“I know you’re not...super ecstatic about the actual prospect of more kids coming from the Isle, but I know that the kids will be just as happy as we were to be chosen. No matter who Ben chooses, you need to support him.” Evie unplugged her curling wand, placing it gingerly on the bathroom counter. She opted for black eyeliner rather than blue since plain colors happened to be more professional. Just in case they saw someone important today. They’d been there for months now and yet she knew that so many citizens of Auradon were watching their each and every move. Waiting for them to say or do something wrong. Most of them were too nice to admit their intentions out loud, but they all knew. “How do I look?” She winked at Mal’s reflection behind her in the mirror, smoothing out her black pencil skirt and flattening the collar of her royal blue button down. Silence, a motionless reflection, a blank stare. “You look great E.” Evie squinted at the reflection before turning around, placing both hands on Mal’s shoulders and squeezing. “With an attitude like that, I could’ve gotten a second opinion from Jay. Tell me what’s wrong.” Mal gnawed on the corner of her lip anxiously, Evie could she that anxious emerald glimmer forming in her eyes. In all honesty, she was running a bit late for her meeting with Ben already, although that was her own fault for curling her hair. Still, she always had time for her friend. No matter how badly Ben needed her she would make room for the people who knew her the longest. The best. “I’m just nervous. We both know that I didn’t really have friends back home. I had henchmen, enemies, and you guys. Emphasis on the enemies part. That means that a bunch of my enemies are going to b-”

“Mal. You’ve changed now. For the better. No offense, but it’s a really obvious change too. Anyone will be able to see that. I see you change more every single day.”

“It doesn’t matter how much I’ve changed Evie! What about the people there? I bet they haven’t changed a bit! If anything, they’ve gotten worse. Don’t forget what every second on the Isle does to you. Just...before you leave, tell me who’s on the list.”

Evie scoffed, smiling and shaking her head. “Is that what this really is Mal? You know I can’t tell you. Ben has finalized the list. Nothing you see can change. You’ll just be upset over nothing. Now, I have to go. I’ll be back soon. Love you. Bye.” She knew that this wasn’t the best way to leave their conversation, but she also knew that Mal would go back and forth with her for the remainder of the day if she allowed it. 

The palace was so empty in comparison to the school grounds. It seemed impossible, considering that there was a massive increase in staff between facilities. The place should’ve been crawling with activity and yet, every time Evie visited, the palace seemed eerily vacant and pristine. Abandoned, but clean as if there were thousands of invisible servants. Her heels were quiet as they sank into the plush white carpet that lined the hallways on the way to Ben’s planning office. She swung the briefcase filled with finalized plans and documents back and forth playfully. She felt nervous. Beyond nervous. There was a pit forming in her stomach, imagining all the things that could go wrong. If something wasn’t right, there would be no time to fix it now. Stress causes wrinkles and acne and still, she couldn’t help but worry. 

She paused in front of the large, majestic oak double doors that led into Ben’s office that contained all his royal information. Extremely sensitive. Before she could even raise her hand to knock, both doors flew open to reveal Ben’s sweaty, flustered face on the other side. “You’re here. Finally. You brought the papers right? Super great. It’s happening so soon. Can you believe how soon it’s happening? Maybe we should’ve pushed it back further. More time to plan. Come in.” Ben turned away from the door and began to pace back and forth, running both hands through his hair. Evie crept inside slowly and shut the door. Evie knew that Ben had a lot riding on the public receiving this well. It would make him look like the best or worst king ever. Still, she had never seen him this stressed out and it was a bit unnerving, but it gave her the boost of determination to act like she was perfectly fine. If they were both nervous wrecks then nothing would get accomplished. 

“All the physical and psychiatric evaluations are in order for their arrival and Headmistress Fairy Godmother just informed me this morning that the dorm situations, as well as class schedules, have been finalized so we don’t need to worry about that anymore! The cars are ready to move tomorrow morning and collect the 15 lucky Isle kids and bring them back by around...9:15 is what it’s looking like. Of course, Jay and I will be with them to make sure everyone is found in a...timely manner. And Ben- Ben. Ben!” Ben had been gazing intently at a marble paperweight for what Evie could only assume was the majority of her checklist. He snapped back into an attentive state instantly, blinking vacantly. “You didn’t hear a thing I just said did you?” She crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow and delivering a tight-lipped smile. “I...heard. The doctors are ready. FG is ready. The teachers are ready. The drivers and guards are ready. You’re ready. Jay’s ready. Everyone but me is ready for my plan Evie!” 

Evie sighed, dropping her briefcase on Ben’s already amazingly cluttered desk and placing a hand on his head. “Ben. You are ready. I doubt things would be going so nicely if you waited. Now is a good time. We’re all ready. This has been in the works for months. You need to just...be yourself because that worked wonders on us when we arrived.” They both stared at each other for what seemed like ages before bursting into childish fits of laughter. “Evie. You’re right. I can do this. We can do this. Text me over any other things I need to know and I’ll be ready for you all when you get back.”

“We leave at 6 tomorrow morning! What would you do without me, Your Majesty?” She walked backward with her arms open extravagantly. “I’ll see you soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter's title is a reference to the list of villain kids because obviously, a lineup is a queue of people for a specific reason, but the lineup I instantly thought of is the kind where they put a group of suspects in a room to select a criminal. Lineup.
> 
> Auradon Chapter! Our first direct look into Auradon. The "Nobody Pays Attention to Evie" Chapter! I wanted to take a more versatile perspective and use it for the first chapter stationed in Auradon. So, I chose Evie. Not only is she an awesome character in general, but there just aren't enough layers to her in canon. She also logically seems like the most useful Isle kid to help Ben formulate his "lineup" and list of things needed for preparation for the kids' arrivals. Let's all be honest, they wouldn't just let kids over without medical evaluations and interviews of some sort. Their classes would be prearranged and all the history they could find on them would be found. Also, Mal's characterization, while not super explored in this chapter...I just want it to be clear that I don't want Mal to be lit as a bad person. Despite the fact that it would be very easy to do so with what we have already. So don't worry if she seemed a bit sketch this chapter.
> 
> Fun Fact: Typing this chapter was a royal pain. Doubtless nobody cares, but I typed with 2-inch nails, which was an amazingly slow process. (Of course it was!) They're pretty though. 
> 
> Anyhow, that's all folks. Let me know what you think of the story's progression! Make a prediction or two! Or just pop by to say something nice.
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	4. A Lady and a Gentleman

“It’s so much longer now.” The dull knife sawed through the final braid, teal strands splintering and floating to the ground with the rest of the heavier braid. Uma felt Gil press a hand onto the midpoint of her back. “I think when I take them all down it’ll be here.” She sighed and grabbed a braid, commencing the unraveling. “Time for a haircut then?” She smirked at the small gasp Gil responded with. “You can’t! It’s been growing forever! I mean, short hair is good too, but your hair is pretty. Even if it’s not blue anymore.” He tugged at a braid and judging by his small mumble Uma figured he had just realized that they would be taking these down for a while. 

Around halfway through the unbraiding process, Gil, who had been quiet the entire time, much to Uma’s surprise and slight delight, spoke. “Uma. Do you think we’re going to Auradon?” Uma had been awaiting his next ask about Auradon since last night. No other crew member raised the conversation to her, knowing she was undoubtedly busy thinking. Sometimes it was bothersome, but Gil’s denseness could be refreshing at times. Helped her to see different angles. He would say things no one else could think of or things no one would say just because Uma didn’t want to hear it. “I honestly don’t know Gil. I think you have a good chance. They want to bring people...like them. You know? Or...something like that.” Uma remembered meeting Gil. She could recall her shock at how absolutely dopey and kind-hearted a child the same age as her could be. At first, she kept him around because he was funny. Strong too. He didn’t challenge her as any normal person would and he was easy to order around. Then she began to develop a sort of strange sentiment for him (not love or affection, since those weren’t allowed) that she couldn’t particularly describe. Whatever it was, it made her check on Gil more often and make sure he ate and make sure he never did anything he couldn’t come back from. Auradon would love him and he’d adjust easily. No scenes made. No drama caused. If he got selected, all that...work she had done to...look after him would be worthwhile. 

They’d been sitting on the floor of the Captain’s Cabin for an hour when they finally completed the task of removing each braid from Uma’s head. The door made an obnoxious, yet pitiful, fantastically drawn out creaking sound, a piercing hole in the idyllic stillness of Uma and Gil’s focus. “You lasses having fun?” Harry leaned in the doorway, smirking with the uninjured half of his face. Uma still hadn’t been able to get what happened out of Harry and with Harry, anything could’ve happened. She stood first and stretched, seemingly ignoring Harry entirely. “Wow. Your hair got long." Gil stood right after Uma and chuckled. "That's what I said! It's really pretty right?" Harry slung an arm around Gil's shoulders lazily, staring right at Uma. "Look at Uma! She is what we call a vision. She's beauty, clarity, elegance, tranquility. Everything about her is fantastical! Not just her hair Gil. Although that alone is amazing." Uma squinted at the two of them, tiny wrinkles forming between her brows. "Did you come down here for something Harrison?" 

"Talking about you can't be enough?" He inquired cheekily. When a few seconds passed with no reply from her, he took that as his sign to keep talking. Harry perked right up, unfazed by the lack of acknowledgment of his compliments. She never gave him much in the way of satisfaction or praise when he presented her with his extravagant and hyperbolic compliments. It never seemed to bother him or disrupt their usual patterns and in fact, became commonplace in most of their interactions. "Oh yes!" He released Gil, who simply stood at the ready in case Harry had anything important to say. Harry floated right behind Uma, dragging the curved metal of the bend of his hook up her arm. Uma paid it no mind, pushing her hair to the side and looking over her shoulder at him. He cleared his throat in the most dramatic way possible (typical) before beginning. "The charming Lord Anthony Tremaine, Ginny Gothel, and I believe...one of the Gastons seek your presence above deck." Uma's eyes widened and she elbowed Harry in the stomach (not enough to actually hurt of course) then she left the room with a start. "You couldn't have led with that? You're amazingly unsavory my dear Hook." Uma didn't have to look back to know the only thing Harry gathered from that was that she had called him 'my dear'.

Uma secured her sword and appeared on deck as casually as she could. They didn't need to know what made her anxious. Anthony stood, hands in his crappily tailored pockets, chestnut hair blowing in the salty breeze, dapper face in the resting position of a menacing smile. Naturally, he had to speak first. "I'm diggin' the fro. It's a nice change of pace for you." Anthony smiled, like after every statement he said. As if it were proper, but it always looked like a warning. His voice had always been surprisingly smooth and his speech as refined as he could make it. So the first words out of his mouth felt laughable to Uma.

"What do you want?" She snapped back boredly.

"What? A gentleman can't compliment a lovely lady when he sees one?" His question got chuckles out of her pirates and an eye roll out of Ginny, the spitting image of her mother in her youth, on his right.

"He can. But you're not. And last warning of the day: I'm not a lady. I'm a pirate." The entire time the conversation unfolded they both took steps towards each other, his small group following closely behind him. The Crew appeared to be in a relaxed state, but they were all holding themselves tensely. Ready to strike on their Captain's command. Soon enough, they were perhaps 3 feet away from each other and the air had grown heavy and stale. Gaston, the eldest one, stepped forward on the left side of Anthony. She found the trio odd, but with the news of Auradon, it would bring people together. People who should stay far away from each other. "Don't look so smug Witch. We're here to make a sort of arrangement. In the case that your crew...alters when the Prince rounds up his favorite villains. He must be bored with the old ones."

"Gaston the First speaks! Everyone in the surrounding vicinity loses brain cells. It's super effective!" Her voice was cheerful, to add to the unbelievably disrespectful amount of sarcasm the comment already carried.

"You bi-" Gaston lurched forward, stopped by Anthony placing a hand on his shoulder. Ginny cracked a smile at the comment which was as she figured. Gothel didn't raise her daughter to see people like Gaston's son as any more than pathetic tools.

"Hey! No cursing on my pirate ship! There are kids here. It's really a bit early for all this isn't it?" The Crew chimed in with hearty laughs of mockery at the sight of Gaston's clenching fists. Anthony advanced without his comrades, pausing when he was about a foot away from her. This made the pirates stand, but not move. Not yet. "Uma. Uma. Let's talk. Like civilized people. Without swords. If you happen to lose some of your crew to Auradon, that might be troublesome. I wanted to make a deal of sorts. So you and your pirates can keep existing in peace. Fewer pirates. Weaker crew. Easier target. We on the same page?"  
So that’s what this was. A threat more than a deal, she could assume. She looked up, staring Anthony in the face stoically. “Oh yeah Tremaine. Same font and everything. You’d better hurry up though. This chapter’s a bit boring. I tend to cause problems when I get bored.” He sneered, obviously entertained by the dreadful plight unfolding. 

“I got eyes on a large group of...schmucks! Approaching starboard!” The current lookout in the crow's nest compacted her telescope, calling down to the rest of The Crew below. Uma tilted her head past Anthony, squinting at the cluster of marching, tacky yellow and blue figures fast approaching. She sidestepped, hand on the hilt of her sword. “Well...I guess your time to make a deal has expired. If my eyes don’t deceive me, that’s Evie and a gaggle of Auradon douchebags. Now, I don’t know a single one of these guys, but they look like douches to me.”

“Uma! I know we’ve never been the best of friends...but can you help me find some people?” Evie smiled daintily, fluttering her blue mascara-coated lashes with her hands bundled together in front of her. “Don’t mind the guards. King Ben made me take them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter, title is more on the nose, directly referencing to Anthony's most charming line.
> 
> The beginning of the chapter has more cute Gil and Uma time, I wanted to make it apparent that even in Uma's thoughts where no one can get to her, she's hesitant to admit her care for someone. It just shows how deeply rooted that Isle ideology is. I also, of course, had to have Harry being Harry and showering Uma with casual compliments. I did want to retain that element of Uma absolutely knowing what Harry's up to and ignoring it entirely. She just can't seem to give the poor fellow the time of day. 
> 
> Anthony and Friends, as I'll call them for now, making an appearance was a thing I wanted to implement and simply selected a few fun VKs to use. If Uma and her crew were able to have their own turf AND take over Mal's once the rotten Four left, I can just see other VKs out to snatch up what she's built at any given opportunity. Uma and her crew aren't given enough credit on how difficult that must've been. Losing crew members is definitely an opportunity. It's up to you to figure out if they were ever going to make good on a deal or not.
> 
> Lest I over-explain, I'll leave my Author commentary here. Let me know what you think of how the story's shaping up! I'm having lots of fun just writing to write and not taking myself too seriously, but please send suggestions and predictions my way!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	5. Familial Units

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a circle around of Evie's perspective and planning for the Isle trip and her arrival on the Isle. Then we meet back at the end of the previous chapter.

There were 2 large limos. Evie had stated that 3 separate cars alongside one limousine would've been preferable, but King Ben and the rest of his council vetoed the proposition due to the simple fact that the mission already had an amazing amount of manpower. It was a lot of cars or a lot of guards. Not both. For some ridiculous reason. It wasn't like anything was out of the price range. So Evie was stuck with 2 limos for transportation. They would hold a mixture of guards and VKs to "limit" the chances for violence. She wasn't convinced, but it was that or back to the drawing board for another stretch of time.

Evie had also made it crystal clear that absolutely no one could know which kids had been selected aside from the people on the council, to confirm the selections. Anyone else risked names getting out and if they did then the media would latch onto them as quickly as possible. Auradon was nicer, but reporters were still leeches. If any names got on the news it could easily result in one of the kids on the list not living to make it over. Or being in an awful condition when they arrived. Not every parent would be overjoyed to lose their “precious” children. More than a handful of parents would sooner see their child dead than more successful or happier than them. Some children would be undoubtedly jealous of anyone selected which created a window of fighting which could have unfortunate results for all parties involved. When she posed this threat, Fairy Godmother had asked why Mal and the others didn't have these issues. She remembered how disgusted the look on her own face was. She caught a glimpse of it in the reflection of the glass conference table. To any person of the Isle, the reason was glaringly obvious. It should've occurred to even Ben and Fairy Godmother. Their parents. Their parents were the best of the best. Or worst of the worst, rather. They wanted their kids to carry on their legacy, avenge them, follow in their hellish footsteps. No one would dare attack them and their parents practically gave them a play by play of what they needed to do upon arrival. Other kids couldn't be so lucky. 

She'd had a tough time helping Ben. Surrounded by people who were trying to want the best, but had doubts right behind their fragile support. It seemed like it was just them against the world. Ben was supportive all the way, the original idea had been his, but he didn't have the knowledge to be helpful enough with planning. When it came down to the wire, support from someone actually Auradonian meant a lot. Her friends were in her corner no matter what. When she mentioned that Ben wanted her help with planning to bring over more VKs, the first thing any of them could offer was help if she needed it. Their support was unconditional and even if they weren't friends, they were all Isle. They understood where things varied and why certain things couldn't work the way the Auradonians expected them to. She never had to explain an idea to them. It just clicked. Which is why Evie never stopped being grateful for someone who had no clue but would listen and not impose their own uninformed ideas onto her propositions. 

Evie and Jay had 4 guards to search with them while the drivers remained at the limos with 2 guards left behind per vehicle. Evie felt so constricted as soon as she stepped out of the safety of the air conditioning and tinted windows. Had she felt like this her entire life? Oppressed and belittled and trapped with absolutely no signal of an escape or rescue? She crossed her arms together, rubbing her forearms as if the action could keep away the cold spawned from haunting memories and the mere prospect that she could come across her mother at a moment’s notice. There seemed to be no air around her, her lungs were collapsing on themselves, she felt weightless, but in an uncontrollable way. One could imagine this to be similar to the feeling of losing oneself in the vacuum of outer space with no hope of touching solid ground ever again. She reached back and placed a hand on the car window to ground herself with no such luck. “Evie. Are you...good?” She came back all at once. It was like plummeting from the top of Gothel’s tower. Jay gave her shoulder a firm squeeze, patiently staring down at her, waiting for a response. “I’m great! Let’s get this show on the road shall we?”

“I can find them all myself. If you give me your guards I can go and get them all back. You can just wait here. I understand if you..you know.”

“I’m good. I can’t leave you to do this all alone Jay. It was my plan for you to be my support. Plus, we’ll be here for ages if you look alone.”

“Fine. You have your copy of the list. I have mine. Who are you gonna start with?” Evie pulled the small slip of paper out of her skirt pocket, squinting at the tiny names on the page. “I think if I can find Uma, I can find a lot of them. As scary as she likes to be, I know she takes care of the kids. What about you?” Jay leaned forward to peek at Evie’s list to avoid taking out his own. “Just like old times. I think I'm gonna swing over to Frollo's. I’ve missed tormenting the bastard. They say crosses scare demons. Evie. This was long overdue." He put both hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him, smiling a little mischievous grin. "Good luck. Come back when you find all you can." He turned to signal his guards, but Evie pushed herself from the gravel and wrapped her arms around Jay from behind. "Be safe."

Here she now stood. In front of a pirate ship crawling with, well, pirates. She'd tried the restaurant to begin with to no avail. This was the only other place she could think of and to her delight, Uma and a number of her crew and nonmembers of the crew stood on deck. She'd told her guards before that it would be a detrimental mistake to underestimate anyone they came across. Especially not these someones. She got their attention faster than she expected and was shocked to see that she had interrupted some sort of negotiation. Anthony Tremaine was far too full of himself to visit a person like Uma for leisure. Uma actually came off of the ship to meet her, her two loyal...friends in tow. Despite what anyone said, she had a feeling that Gil and Harry, even her entire crew, could be worded as friends to Uma. If the word weren't something sweet and sticky. Trapping in a place like this. A web that left one vulnerable. "You look...different. I mean besides the hair. I'm here for a few of your crew actually. And to...ask your help in finding a few people." Uma’s eyes scanned her slowly, then the guards. It seemed like forever that they stood. Static. Undeviating. She could tell by the storm brewing in her eyes, cold and depthless, that she was analyzing Evie bit by bit and breaking her down into tiny pieces. It was an apparent special skill of hers. Until finally, she spoke. With a monotonous, uninterested tone that made Evie audibly sigh in relief. That was a good sign from Uma at least. “Well? Do you have a hit list or something? Or am I supposed to just give you my best guess?” Evie stood for a moment in shock that she was actually agreeing to help before stumbling back quickly. “Oh! I can just tell you. I came here for you, Gil, and Harry, but considering Anthony is already here...I was looking for Dizzy too.” 

“I get Dizzy, but...why Anthony?” Uma turned to peer at Anthony and his comrades disembark the ship. 

“We wanted to continue collecting kids of the...better known villains first and then moving out to a larger pool. I also suggested that we keep groups similar to family units together.”

“Yeah. Lessen the stress I guess. Still, Anthony’s not exactly a shining beacon of goodness ripe and ready for change.”

“Neither are you. But the Council verified your addition to the list too.”

“...Whatever. Let’s go complete your hit list. I’m sure you have a castle to return to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter title. A reference to Evie mentioning how the planned to keep groups of people like family together. This would be a good move from a psychological standpoint, considering that Evie would know well that some of the kids who are close' practically only have each other. Even through the darkest of times. Similar to the idea that the Core Four would've managed much differently if sent at different times separate to each other. 
> 
> This chapter was a bit of a struggle to write simply due to my being busy and continuously thinking about the next few chapters which I have more vividly planned out. Still, I made it through with a pretty decent chapter! 
> 
> I've not much to say, considering this was a lot of Evie expropriation and setup, but next chapter the selected VKs will be well on their way to Auradon! Who do you think makes up the top-secret list of 15 kids?
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	6. The Likes of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're in Auradon. This is a Harry chapter, going through the motions of what happened to every Isle kid upon arrival before they can be released to cause trouble. Naturally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if you don't find this one too eventful, but I promise the next chapter will come up a bit more exciting as Ben and his Council review the results of their physicals and tune in to realize how...lost the children on the Isle really were. It's gonna be a big guilt trip so super fun!

The moment they left the limos they were to be separated for individual evaluation. Which didn't bode well with Harry. Not in the slightest. Never simply allow the enemy to divide you from your people without a scuffle of some sort. It was shameful. "Get your hands off me. I don't need a whatever the hell physical. I won't ask this nicely again." It was nowhere near nice. He just wasn't yelling. His voice was low and every syllable was said slowly. More along the lines of a growl. The guards attempted to escort him away like the others standing outside of Auradon Prep, but he would have none of it. Now, given, the only people present when they arrived were King Ben and the Fairy Godmother with no sort of welcoming committee to cover the grounds since, in good conscience, the Council deemed it far too overwhelming. "Mr. Hook. I am Fairy Godmother! Headmistress. I can absolutely assure you that no harm will come to you or your companions during your physical examinations. These are mere meetings with our doctor to see if any of you are in need of medical attention." Harry couldn't help but scoff at how cheery she sounded. It felt unbelievably condescending to him. "Medical attention? Nah. I'm rather peachy. Top notch really." He attempted a wink but with his other eye still swollen shut, it registered as more of an uncomfortable blink. He took a step forward, in preparation to add on to the growing discomfort latching onto the open air. "Harry. Level with them here." He froze instantly at the sensation of a small hand wrapping around his wrist. Too small to hold him back realistically, but it felt like the hand had all the power in the world. It weighed his entire arm down and not even the desire to brandish the hook at the end of his hand was more powerful. Small. Tiny. Weak. The hand was… He turned to his side sharply, looking down at Uma. "They are-"

"If something were ever to happen. I would come and find you. Don't worry. That's an order." To anyone else, he knew Uma's tone sounded harsh and cold, but he could hear the softness in her voice. The velvet tucked behind each letter. The intent was loud and clear to him. Their home always taught them never to say they cared, but it oozed from every sentence she spoke to her crew. Her people. He cleared his throat and looked behind him where Gil stood. They were the last 3 yet to be carted off. That had to be an accomplishment in of itself. "If they try anything weird I'll come help you out for sure." Harry usually felt something tug at the corners of his lips whenever Gil lent an encouraging word or even if he just dropped a casual sentence. Gil sounded so unapologetically optimistic so often. He found it amazing that Gil's outlook was less Uma and more Dizzy. He had grown, seen the horrors, he had brothers who liked to beat people to bloody pulps for fun. Still, here stood Gil, bright as ever. One of life's great mysteries. "Alright alright. No need to get all serious on me. I'm going. And I will do my absolute best, to behave." He smiled the way he saw the Auradonians smile on the news with that last sentence and directed it at Fairy Godmother. She remained perky and professional, never appearing as much more than a blank canvas. It was unsettling somehow.

"Harrison Hook?" A woman in a white coat opened the door to the pristine room he'd been sitting in for about 5 minutes. The room wasn't all white like he’d seen on TV. The walls were painted with an elegant forest landscape. The wall by the door had a small cluster of deer on it. He wondered if a person actually took time to sit and paint this. There was a table with white paper rolled out on it that made the most obnoxious crinkling sound when he touched it, so he dragged a chair from off the wall and sat next to it. There had been a woman before the doctor. A nurse. It took immense amounts of strength to not run her through with his hook when she did all sorts of strange things and called them vitals. Putting machines to his arm, touching machines to his head, he hadn't seen this many operating machines...ever. Granted, he also hadn't seen a working car until this morning either. 

The doctor had shiny blonde hair curled up into perfect ringlets that stopped right at her shoulders. Her hands were dainty and nicely manicured, her outfit was akin to all the outfits he'd seen thus far which confirmed that they had some sort of uniform. Her ID was clipped to one of her belt loops and she looked a lot worse in that photo than in person. He could see from the ID that her eyes were quite a striking green and that her name was 'Emily Samuels.' No name he'd ever heard of, but then again, not everyone was famous. "I'm Dr. Samuels. I've got all the fun notes your nurse took right here on my clipboard. You have some pretty decent vitals. I see high blood pressure and temperature, but I've got a keen idea as to the cause of both of those. Before I start interrogating you, do you have any questions for me?" Harry leaned forward in his chair, knees on elbows, staring her right in the eyes. "If I answer incorrectly, will you execute me?" Dr. Samuels paused before grabbing the leg of a rolling chair with her ankle, pulling it to her and plopping down in it. She rolled to the laptop on the counter opposite of Harry and opened it. "There are no wrong answers! You just answer or you don't." She giggled and it seemed obvious that his attempt to frighten her hadn't worked in the slightest. She typed away on the laptop, notes he couldn't see, before turning to face him, clipboard in hand. "So. Let's start by talking about this." She waved her pen in a circle around his face. "You've got bruising, swelling, and a cut or two on your face, the skin is split on your knuckles, and judging by your left arm, you seem to have been kicked or a blunt object was thrown there. Right? So what happened?" He had no clue what he expected her to ask, but the question shocked him for some reason. He placed his hook in his lap and looked down at the backs of his hands, dried blood from reopening wounds and barely formed scabs took their place decorating his hands. "I got into in with my...father. Didn't go over well for me, but you can't win 'em all." She didn't falter for a second, writing down something right after he went quiet and smiling at him afterward. "Allow me to just reaffirm here. You're telling me that Captain Hook did this to you, correct?" Harry tilted his head, confused on how she could need to reassign or whatever she needed. It seemed simple and clear enough to him. "Yeah."

"Got it. Now, on the same subject. Does that happen often? Do you get into physical altercations with your father? Fights?"

"As often as anyone I figure. Not as much anymore considering I don't even stay with him."

"You don't live with your father. Okay. So I see here that you have 2 sisters who are also here. Do they stay at home?"

"No point."

"Alright. Thanks so much. You seem to be quite malnourished and you have some interesting visible scars, aside from your fresh external injuries and I have the sneaking suspicion that one of your wounds is infected. That would be causing the cute little fever you've got. You look to be in pretty good shape despite it all and you seem to be eating something in order to not be as underweight as I predicted. Can you tell me where you get your food?"

"Uma." He played with his hook as he answered, poking the razor-sharp end gently against the tip of his finger. He never looked at the doctor to answer. He didn't see the point. He'd been interrogated before and it was nothing like this. There was a lot more punching and also stabbing involved in that. This was quite boring and the questions were mind-numbingly simple. Not much of an interrogation. "Daughter of Ursula. Duly noted. Alrighty! I think that's all I need for right around now! I'm going to issue you a nice little dose of antibiotics so you can get better and see through both of those bright blue eyes again and the same nurse is going to be back to give you some shots. For vaccinations. She'll also clean up those wounds for you so they can be on the mend much more quickly! Do you have any questions for me, Mr. Hook?" The woman had shut the laptop and placed it on top of her clipboard, apparently taking it somewhere. She stood by the door, patiently waiting for Harry to speak. "Shots?"

Shots were far less threatening than they sounded and barely stung a bit. The nurse gave him all kinds of shots for all sorts of silly illnesses that he hadn't been "exposed" to due to his life behind the barrier. Including, but not limited to, Fairie Flu, Troll Chest, and his personal favorite, Dragon's Throat. No one back home ever worried about being ill. Sometimes it happened and you just did what you normally did, hoping it would go away. The nurse also ended up taking his blood which he wasn't expecting, but she convinced him of it with the promise of a cookie, the likes of which he'd never had. Uma had salvaged a part of some sort of genuine baked good wrapped in a napkin once when they were small and ever since then, Harry was 1000% sure that he was a sweets kind of fellow. She cleaned his wounds, gave him a paper of instructions for cleaning and his medicine, then asked him to remain in the room. 

Harry's encounter with these Auradonians was far less painful than he expected. They were clean and cheerful, but there was still an element of realism to them both. They were people he could see himself not totally making fun of. He got bored in 3 minutes, standing and walking to the counter. There were multiples of many types of supplies in clear jars. He gravitated to the cotton balls and became satisfied with shredding them into little piles of fluff. "Mr. Hook? Can I call you Harry? Or do you prefer Harrison?" Harry's instincts took over and he jumped back to the far wall, hook raised and pointed in the direction of the voice. "Apologies. That's my fault for not knocking. I'm Dr. Lionhart. I'm here to talk to you."

"Sorry Doc but I already seen one of you." He crept back over to the chair, hook tense by his side as he sat back in his original seat and she sat across from him where the other doctor had been. "I'm aware. I'm a different sort of doctor. Think more thoughts and ideas and less cuts and coughs." The woman’s answer didn’t do anything in the way of calming him and in fact, he grew even tenser. “A brain doctor. So how does this work? Am I meant to sit and talk about my...feelings? Because you’re outta luck. I’m stone cold. Plus I can assure you that I’ve gone ‘round the bend. Mad, if you will. Your work is done for you.” The doctor smiled softly and chuckled. “I’m sure you are Mr. Hook. Tell me why you would classify yourself as having lost your mind.” No one had ever...genuinely wanted to know why he thought the way he did. Some asked just to get a reaction and the only person who knew was Uma. She never had to ask.

“Like father like son I suppose.”

“Would you personally compare yourself to your father?”

All Harry could do was laugh. He tilted his head back, holding his stomach to support the maniacal, boisterous laughter. Other people did, but he didn’t and neither did his dad. His father tried the hardest to find every difference between them. Distinct or indistinct. “Okay. So who do you associate with? Not your father I see. Sisters maybe?”

“Them? Nah. They have their own nonsense to tend to. Who am I to stand in the way of that? They can wreak their own havoc. I bother them from time to time. Sometimes Uma sends me after Harriet to chat. But nope. My family and I mind our own business. Maybe you could take a few notes.”

“Uma, Daughter of Ursula. Pirate ship captain. I’ve heard that she’s a pretty...interesting character. Eccentric. What do you think of her? What can you tell me personally?”

“Auradon could never be ready for the likes of her.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This world's not ready for a girl like our girl Uma. Obviously. 
> 
> This chapter was fun to write and if you feel confused or shocked about why the doctors an nurses were so unfazed or "chill" about some of the things they saw like Harry's dad beating him up on multiple occasions or Harry admitting he doesn't often associate with his family, I figured they would've selected some of their more "hardcore" doctors. Then they would've taken them a probably briefed them over and over on what they could expect. So their comments would all be in a realm between genuine and trained responses. I can imagine the Core Four training with the doctors and nurses and acting how they would've acted before being accustomed to Auradon. As a result, there are probably only 3 doctors and maybe that many nurses. Other people wouldn't be that ready that fast, Isle kids are just different. 
> 
> Just for you lot, I can confirm that the only therapist/psychiatrist is Dr. Lionhart. So she has spoken to each child by her lonesome.  
> Let me know what you think! 
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	7. Invasion of Privacy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Council is in session to talk about their findings with the Isle kids. It can't really be as bad as they thought right? The dynamic doctor duo is here to tell all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Brief description of physical injuries near the end of the chapter. Nothing too intense or graphic, but just in case that's not for you.

"If everyone could be seated before we begin? We'll be going over the results with the help of our lead doctor, Dr. Samuels and our psychiatrist, Dr. Lionhart." The Council Meeting Room was a large, windowless room with a long glass conference table and plush white carpets. The room was rather large, making it feel more barren than it already was. There was the table and chairs, a long wooden counter to the left of the door that could hold snacks at certain meetings, and the board at the front of the room for connecting laptops and displaying information. Ben took his handkerchief from his jacket pocket and began rolling it into a ball by the best of his ability. His hands were drenched in sweat and he was trying his best not to shake. It had been done now, but he was afraid of what these doctors would show them. What they would see on the screen. Ben had never been to the Isle himself. He'd seen photos and heard treacherous tales. 

Ben walked to the back of the room to place himself at the head of the table. Evie on his right and Fairy Godmother on his left. The table contained every member of the Council. Including his parents. There were a lot of faces here who were about to see the disparity they created. Dr. Samuels walked in with her laptop in hand, sitting at the empty front chair, Lionhart took the front seat across from her. There was a sort of anxious silence while the laptop was connected to the screen. It was so quiet, he could hear Cinderella's shaky, fragile breaths. The loading couldn't have taken more than a few seconds, but Ben felt like it lasted forever and people were growing impatient with him. It wasn't even his laptop. When it was connected, she stood with the laptop and faced her back to the board. "I am Dr. Emily Samuels! It is my honor to address King Benjamin and the Auradonian High Council. Alright! Now with the formalities out of the way, I will be displaying and describing information that could be considered graphic or cause extreme discomfort. It would be wise to apply discretion to what you believe you can handle viewing. I, however, at the request of King Benjamin, will not make any of this information more palatable to any member of the Council. Is everything clear?" Ben was sweating pinballs, eyeing the other members to gauge their starting moods before they got the chance to react. Even Ben himself wasn't all too sure of what was in store for this meeting. He had seen the kids and they looked slightly worse for wear, but most of them seemed otherwise happy to be there. Mood can alter presentation greatly. As he learned when he was still training to be king. 

"I observed obvious signs of neglect in their most common forms. Every child was malnourished, some to the point of forming rashes. My team and myself noted cavities and fully rotten teeth, lice, fleas, and a fun array of other physical hindrances. Now naturally, if this were to occur here we would blame the parents for not looking after their children, but as Dr. Lionhart will tell you when I have finished, there are children who are taken care of by their guardians. To the best of their ability. This can be blamed on no one. Aside from ourselves. It's no secret that I've been an advocate for Isle Assistance even before the election of the new king. Which is why this mission holds some personal weight for myself." Dr. Samuels paused, looking around the room, before clearing her throat and redirecting towards the screen. 

"Pardon me. You're saying quite explicitly that these issues are caused by us. Correct?" Ben could feel a lump caught in his throat as soon as his father began to speak. He loved his parents and they loved him, but it seemed like he'd been fighting them ever since he began with all this. Dr. Samuels turned away from the board and gave a curt, toothless smile. "That would be an accurate conclusion, yes."

"We've been providing supplies to the Isle for decades. What grounds would they have to not utilize these items?" Doc, sitting across from his father, nodded in rapid agreement. "Yes. It's not as if they have nothing. I agree with our...previous King. I fail to see where you hand us the blame."

"Supplies. Indeed we do send items to the Isle. I'm sure you meant garbage and heavily used products. Amazingly enough, this is a fact that most if not every Auradon citizen knows but will wholeheartedly ignore or...deny. Curious as to why. Naturally the water surrounding the island is heavily polluted and lacking sea life and land is unsuitable for farming. The notion that these children are starving should be a reasonable fact to grasp. Should it not?" With every statement she made, Ben couldn't help but feel pride at his selections. He had researched these people. He had interviewed them. He had organized for their training. Here she spoke, so professionally and yet so passionately. Ben could only ever manage one or the other.

"If you'll direct your attention to the board. I have photos of written notes that I will read to you and some of the VKs were willing to allow myself and my team to take photos or videos of them. As I stated before, some of this, even just reading these excerpts of observations may be uncomfortable." No one spoke and he wasn't sure if it was because no one had anything to say or because Samuels had shut them up. He paid adept attention to everything she said as closely as possible. Even when...he would rather turn away. He had never felt quite so sick before until a photo of a girl appeared on the screen. In fact, it seemed like the pressure of the entire room dropped. It was just her back, long dark hair cascading down her shoulder. 

It wasn't unlike the other photos, her spine and ribs were visible through her skin but her back was absolutely covered in horrendous raised scarring. It seemed like a vile beast had taken its claws and dragged them down her back and this was how it healed. It made Ben's skin crawl and he heard Evie gasp next to him. The girl seemed to be recognizable to her and when Ben looked back, he noticed a tattoo. Some words in elegant cursive font that he couldn't quite read due to them having been cleaved by a scar. "Claudine. I never thought…" He turned to her but she was looking down, hands shaking. The other council members had been remaining strong and cool headed through most of the readings and photographs, but this one seemed to make everyone feel similar. "Excuse. Umm...this is from a belt? A whip?" King Eric involved himself in these meetings over his more arguably busy wife Ariel. He was puzzled, speaking in a more cautious voice. It was such an unbelievably sharp contrast to his typically echoing and proud voice. The room was silent all except for Samuels, who opened her mouth to speak until she was cut off by a clear, resonate voice that decided to speak before her. "She was flogged." Everyone turned their attention to the voice. Esmeralda, an avid council member and one of the few who agreed with Ben wholeheartedly that his plans were worth execution. "Precisely. Has anyone heard of flagellation? A rather...outdated form of repentance for sin, involving bodily mortification. Just an amazing example of why while some of these children are able to leave their parents to find care elsewhere or are cared for by their parents, others could never be so lucky. Even if we were to send the best quality supplies and provide the most useful environment for them to live in, leaving these children within the hands of the villains that we cowered in abject fear of is nothing more than villainous in of itself. Now, I think I will pass the torch on over to Dr. Lionhart."

The screen went dark and Lionhart stood slowly, which everyone seemed a bit grateful for. They all needed a minute to gather themselves after that. Her pitch black bob was cut at the most precise angle just below her ears. She was pale, her skin the color of freshly fallen snow. Lionhart looked like a different entity compared to Samuels and her bouncy blonde ringlets and warm brown skin. Even when Samuels was as serious as she had been, she sounded inviting and rather cheerful. Ben had never been able to discern another tone from Lionhart outside of to the point and professional. "I appreciate Samuels and her amazing presentation. Hopefully it will make your understanding of this inherently more complex subject easier. I am Dr. Lucinda Lionhart. It is my honor to address King Benjamin and the Auradonian High Council. I will be describing information that could cause extreme discomfort. It would be wise to apply discretion to what you believe you can handle hearing. I, however, at the request of King Benjamin, will not make any of this information more palatable to any member of the Council. Is everything clear? Now, it would be impossible to look at these children without viewing the impact that remaining with these villains has had on their psyche. One fantastic and accessible example to us is Rapunzel's personal recounting of how Mother Gothel's "parenting" altered the way she saw herself and the world. "The Mother Complex" it's a good read. I bring it up because of how applicable it is to our situation at hand. The biggest fear is that there are more villains being created. While that is a factor, I don't find it to be the closest truth. Most of the children describe their parents in bitter, hateful ways. Fearful is another big one. These aren't people who these kids would follow anywhere like many of our citizens fear. These are individuals who, much like us, would run in the opposite direction. So I'm sure you're all glad to hear that the Isle isn't just a factory where new villains are being trained to destroy us all. That doesn't make a single one of them harmless however. Survival. It's what has kept them alive, safe, it's how they look after people they care about. Violence and provocation are the few ways one can get anything on the Isle. With such limited "supplies" it should be a given that please and thank you don't quite get the job done." It seemed as though she would continue to speak without anyone to stop her. She didn't pause in between for questions and comments like Samuels. Ben, however had asked a mere few questions at the beginning because this was the portion he'd been waiting for. "How do the kids that don't have a guardian...survive? They aren't older than maybe 17. How is that common?"

"On the contrary Your Majesty. I asked myself a similar question when I first started speaking to the children. I caught on very quickly to the fact that they are more likely to trust each other than the adults on the Isle. Which means that these groups of children aren't just unruly gangs, they're dependent survival groups. They have guardians. People who look after them just like we do. Theirs just aren't adults so of course we would view it as less effective. Another theory quickly debunked. A very interesting example of one of these youth guardians is Uma, Daughter of Ursula. Her name came up unprompted in 7 different sessions. All mentions in references to caretaking from what I've noted. People saying she's fed them when she didn't have to, given them a safe place to sleep, and even fought as a means of protecting them. Sounds pretty capable correct? Yet, Uma is only 17 years old. So I think we will find it difficult to let these children adjust when it was never about fun or learning for them. They had to grow up at an exponential rate in order to stay alive. I think that's an important factor for all of us to note. Headmistress. When they struggle, remember that these children aren't used to a life as simple as the one at Auradon Prep."

When the meeting concluded, Ben wasn't sure if he felt hopeful or amazingly guilty. These people were his age. Mal, Carlos, Jay, and Evie were here and still they never shared much about the Isle with him. Left in the dark. "Hey! How did the meeting go?" Ben shook his head, cleared his throat and smiled at the question. "A lot better than expected. Everyone left much better informed. Evie included apparently."

"Well you guys were there for actual hours so I'm sure it was tons of fun." Mal reached for his hand, interlocking their fingers and squeezing gently.

"Hey. Don't shade the Council. When Cotillion comes around and you're my Lady, you'll be sitting in on every one of those fun meetings." 

"Hmmm…not likely. Where are the kids now?"

"Assigned to their rooms to wash up, eat and just absorb all of this. I know classes are still happening but it seems like too much now." Mal patted his shoulder with her free hand, releasing a deflated laugh.

"Good call."

"Mal. Why don't you or the guys ever talk about the Isle? I know it's probably not your favorite thing but I want to know about you and your life before...well, all this."

"That's not who I am. So why bother?"

"Mal. I'm sorry if I upset you. I just-" She loosened her grip on his hand and pulled out her phone with the other. "I'm not, upset. Just stop worrying me Ben. I'm glad your meeting went well. I have to be back in class soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter. Ben tries to intrude in what Mal wants to remain private and the entire Council is in all the VKs business. I figure since they live in an absolute monarchy Ben can have things like that released in a closed setting.
> 
> There's not much to say about this one except that the Isle sucks and now Auradon has to feel guilty about it. 
> 
> I did have a great time writing the doctors! I love them and their foil appearances and personalities so much! Samuels and her sassy matter of fact speak is my new thing.
> 
> Sorry if you find a few more typos than usual. My computer's on the fritz so I've uploaded from my phone.
> 
> Tell me how you think it's shaping up!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	8. 1+1= Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uma being her usual worrying and plotting self. First day of school action! A lighthearted sort of chapter coming off of the last one. Uma makes a new friend (?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Huma! Finally, be warned. It's very miniscule.

When Uma took a shower, the water was warm. That had never happened to her...ever. Sometimes she couldn't even get her hands on enough decently clean water to bathe as often as she wanted to. She had ignored the likes of the clean, large dorm room, hadn't waited for her roommate to see who it was, and headed straight for the bathroom on the left side of the room. She supposed that would make the left side, her side of the room. Upon closing the door, she dropped her small bag of belongings that she had brought with her on the floor. There was a long mirror on her left that stretched past the long marble counter, which stopped to make room for the toilet. On her right was the combined bath and shower. Right by the door on the counter there was a large shampoo bottle with conditioner next to it, a towel, soap, and a comb. Next to the heap was a tiny note card, standing up by itself, it read 'Welcome to Auradon Prep! It's simply magical to have you with us!' 

Uma rotated the card in her hand before crushing it and tossing it into the waste bin in the far right corner of the bathroom. "Simply magical. Right." The only thing that made up for the dumb note was the toiletries and the warm water. The soaps all smelled like some sort of flower according to the bottles, not that she would know, but she ended up smelling like one of those pretty pink princesses when she exited the bathroom. She was in her own clothes and tossed the rest of her things at the foot of her bed, still no roommate in sight. She looked sort of like herself but smelled light and floral. If the color of pastel pink had a scent, it would be Uma. Her hair was as long as Gil had predicted once she washed it and the shrinkage vanished. She decided to go straight for the window at the center of the room, dividing the two beds and see what sort of view she had. In about 3 paces, she heard a knock at the door, instinctively she turned at the first knock. Then realized it could very well be her roommate unable to figure out the keycard. She, too, had struggled. "Who is it?"

"It's your charming swashbuckler, too poor to own armor!" Uma couldn't help but crack a smile as she approached the door and it was long gone by the time she opened it. "Just you? Where's Gil?" He stepped in without an invitation since the door being open was invitation enough and she shut it behind him. "The little sun spot is down in the cafeteria. Inhaling food to his heart's content." He turned to face her before slowly sinking to the floor. "Not you though?" She dragged her shoes against the carpet just for the sound it made, having never seen carpet so soft. Her journey ended when she was next to Harry, sitting across from him. "Food is only important after discussing the game plan with Captain." He crawled forward cautiously, stopping and laying his head in her lap. They were silent for a few moments until Harry seemed certain he wouldn't be evicted from his new resting place. He pressed his back into the floor, stretching his legs across the rest of the empty space. "My hair's wet. You'll get water in your eye if you look straight up at me like that." In the moment, Harry had such a boyish smirk plastered on his face that nothing was likely to remove it. She sighed, running her fingers through his hair, peering at the ceiling fan. "You're tired. Rest lass. I know you haven't gotten a wink in days."

"No you're tired. I want to see where they take this. So far, this King seems a little prepared. I want to ask him when will they bring more? I'm sure they'll all get all soft eyed and surprised and say 'But you've only just got here.' I can see that now. Maybe I'll talk to Evelyn. She and King Prince seem to be new best friends."

"What of his girlfriend? You don't think she'll know much?"

"This is a big reason I keep you around. Always so funny. No. I will not go out of my way to speak to Mal. In fact, it would do me well to ignore her as much as possible." She'd let them have their vision of grateful, pleasantly behaved Isle kids for the moment. It didn't mean all was forgiven. They sat with a solid break in conversation until Uma felt the need to just say what was on her mind. She wasn't one to think out loud but it was only Harry and the words fell out in a soft, weightless tone. "Ursula gave me her necklace." Harry's eyes snapped open in absolute shock. "Your mother? Give? You have it here?"

"I haven't done anything with it yet. I don't know how to do magic. I just know I have it. I didn't even ask her what it did. Ursula doesn't give gifts ever. So I didn't take time to question. I assume it's only for major stuff." He blinked at her before shutting his eyes again and settling back down. "Hook. Don't fall asleep on me." He placed his hook on his stomach and yawned loudly. "I won't Love. Just resting my eyes. You should try it sometime. I hear it works wonders for energy and attitude."

"I'm pretty sure you can't sleep in here."

"What makes you think that?"

"There's a sign that literally says no non-roommates allowed in other rooms after 10 pm."

"Well lucky you it's only 6:30. That should be fine."

"First of all, your eyes are closed. Second of all, even if they weren't, you can't tell time. We've been here since around 10 this morning and amazingly it's only 3."

"So like I said. That should be fine." She sighed and continued to drag her hands through his hair absentmindedly, not really bothered by her current disposition anyway. She'd have plenty of opportunities to scope out the campus tomorrow. Every VK would start their first day of school. It would be the first day of school ever for some of them. The library would be the place to be if she wanted to learn anything about anything. She didn't genuinely know much about Auradon. There was the usual 'Auradon's so great!' shoved down her throat through the TV, but that was about it. What could she actually do here? She had a feeling that they'd fuel her with the knowledge for leagues of troublemaking. Of all the lessons her mother had taught her, not many were useful, but she did always tell her that an uninformed plan is an idiot's plan. Uma looked down, unsurprised to see that Harry had fallen asleep. His face was relaxed, lashes fluttering and brows furrowing every so often, one hand one the floor and the other resting on his spelled and merely decorative hook, policy of Fairy Godmother. People's faces were so different when they slept. So much more genuine and honest. It seemed like everyone wore a mask in their waking hours in one aspect or another. Even the most truthful of people. The act of sleep was far too strenuous to allow for mask wearing simultaneously. She leaned back, holding herself up with the palms of her hands pressed into the carpet behind her. " 'I won't.' he said. 'I'm resting my eyes.' he said. Sure thing Hook."

Gil eventually came in search of Harry in the later hours, Harry had remained fast asleep the entire time until the knock at the door. Gil was beyond excited to spew everything he'd already seen to Uma and she made him the deal that he could talk as much as he wanted if he'd sit and twist out her hair for her. She hadn't done her own hair in forever, since that fateful day Gil saw her doing it and decided it to be an appropriate task to learn. He ended up being good at it and somehow a quick study. When 9:55 rolled around, Uma learned that her roommate was Harriet which worked just fine as far as being paired with someone she could handle being in a room with. She also ended up being forced to remove the boys from the room after learning that there was a dorm monitor to check on people having visitors. Technically visitors were supposed to sign in and out so monitors knew where to check, but Harry and Gil dodged that process entirely. The monitor claimed she'd be on the lookout for specifically them visiting in the future. They were gone and Uma realised how out of place she felt. She hadn't slept with the intent of sleeping in ages. She was too preoccupied looking after someone else or doing something else. The night before school, she only stared at the dark ceiling in a comfortable bed.

Waking up in the morning was easy, considering she hadn't slept. Uma actually liked to learn and apparently she didn't need anything for class except herself and the tablet they had provided each of them. This was a lot easier to carry compared to books she assumed they'd have and it displayed their schedule. She left before Harriet even woke up. Her first class was a shocking one. She'd learned last night that all VKs, even Mal and Co. had Remedial Goodness at the same time. It made sense considering it was a fabricated class just for them. Her first class, however, was one she didn't even think they had. Or one that they'd give her. Still when she walked the sparsely populated hallways, glad she had left early, the sign on the door confirmed that it was real. 'Magic History and Safe Usage for Beginners' she was a magical being, but no one had ever acknowledged it before because it never mattered. The Isle had put a lock on her powers just like everyone else and then taped the key to the outside of the barrier. Just in sight, just out of reach. When she entered, a tall, thin man in a t-shirt and jeans stood at the desk at the front, organizing the lesson on the board. "Our new student! That's just super. I'll have an assigned seat for you but come sit up front for now so you can introduce yourself when the class files in. You remembered your tablet. That's wonderful!" He looked so jagged, angular, serious, and uninviting, but his voice was light and jolly. The voice of someone excited about their job. She wondered if he could do magic as well or if he was just an instructor.

The class was full of short little tables with 2 chairs each, facing the board. The students soon began to appear, brightly colored and chatty. Extremely chatty for a morning class. Usually no one came to these on the Isle. "Good Good Morning my Magical Students! Before we pick up where we left off because I see my scholars with their notes from their tablets ready, we have a new student who's going to stand and introduce herself and tell us her magic heritage just like everyone else did at the beginning of the year. So please be quiet and respectful." The man pointed to Uma who basically sat in the front corner and she stood and stared at the class. They were all Auradonians for sure, but they sat and stared patiently. While 25 sets of eyes would normally unnerve some people, she commanded dozens more than this on the daily. Some who did know who she was and others who didn't. "My name is Uma. My mom's a Sea Witch. So I guess that's what I am." The teacher smiled even though it was the most unimpressive presentation ever. "We've never had one in our class before! Usually they learn in the Oceanic academies. That'll be a fun lesson to go over. Class give Uma a hand for being so super brave! Uma, you see that back table and the girl by herself with that pretty pink hair? Wave Audrey!" A girl dressed in all pale pink that had been looking down at something, jerked her head up and smiled politely. "Audrey will be your buddy and she'll give you all the good good notes you've missed. Luckily it's a discussion class mostly, so there aren't piles of notes."

Uma walked slowly to the back, knowing people were looking, and sat down next to Audrey. It was an assigned seat and the only empty seat left. It was okay, considering she was at the back of the class. "Here. The girl slid a tablet in a pink case that matched her outfit and had a bunch of sparkly charms hanging from it across the table to her. "You should copy these first." Uma grabbed the tablet and began, mostly ignoring the teacher to copy the notes. "So you're from the Isle right?" Uma merely nodded and continued slow, diligent typing since she'd never really typed before. "Well I'm Audrey. Daughter of Sleeping Beauty. Aurora." That did catch Uma's attention. "I didn't know Sleeping Beauty did magic. Maybe I missed something."

"Oh no. I'm not a magic user. I took this class more for the history part." She laughed awkwardly and turned her focus back into a physical notebook where she was drawing a hand, reaching out to...nothing. It was an abyss. "You're a good artist." The Isle didn't do compliments, but they did do facts. If you felt it was a fact, you said it. If someone took it as a compliment, good for them. The colors and composition were much more dynamic than the girl in front of her. Maybe these people did have layers after all. "You like it? I'm shocked." Uma didn't look up or turn her head to engage in the conversation. She only hummed in curiosity. "Why? It's good. Not that complex."

"Yeah, but I figured all these new VKs would hate me. Just like Mal. I thought you people didn't do compliments."

"We don't. But, I'd never do anything like Mal. That's just a fact."

"I thought Mal and all the Isle kids were all buddy buddy because of how she is here and how she talks about the Isle in class."

"Only in her wildest dreams."

"You...don't like Mal?"

"Why would I?"

"It's just...everyone here loves her."

"Well that's their mistake." Uma stood and pushed in her chair as she saw everyone around the room doing the same. It was probably time to head out. She hadn't paid attention to the lecture much, but she had gotten a good chunk of notes copied. Audrey stood and followed behind her when she began to walk. "Umm...What class do you have next? I mean, like, do you need help finding it or something?"

"You don't have any little princess friends to walk with?"

"Of course I do. Helping a VK on their first day makes me look good. Volunteering and stuff."

"At least you're honest. Where's this stupid Remedial Goodness place?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a nice cool down after the last one was so serious. 1+1 Uma and Audrey.
> 
> Uma and Audrey! Despite portrayals, I don't think Audrey hates every VK. I do think she'll find them hard to trust and that Mal rubbed her the wrong way. Audrey is now sort of lonely since I'm sure everyone flocked to Mal from Audrey after their feud was born and Mal started dating Ben. Audrey and Uma can definitely bond over hating Mal, but they'll get along better than that when they find more in common.
> 
> Also...Harry is a cat. That is all. Incoming Gil chapter! Gil is my sweet baby and I love him.
> 
> Let me know what you think! Things you picked up on, predictions, questions, go for it! I try to respond as fast as possible! No comment is too small and no review is 'bad'.
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	9. Cephalopoda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Amazing Adventures of Gil at School! 
> 
> Starring: Gil Observing Uma Having a Tough Time!!!  
> Featuring: Chad Being A Lot Smarter and More of a Jerk!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also also the First Curse Word of the Story Award goes to....
> 
> (Technically Harry if you view 'bastard' as a curse word. Just a cute langauge warning even though it's not intense it might bother some people so here you go!)

Gil loved school. He had made that decision rather quickly as soon as they arrived in Auradon. School had food and comfy beds and really nice teachers who taught him new things. His first class had been Biology. He took that class and ran with it. He had no clue that some people just sat and studied alive things all day. No one he knew was in that class which sort of scared him at first, but last night Uma told him to have fun in class tomorrow and she sounded like she meant it. He asked question after question and the teacher always had an answer. When he had a random 'off topic' question his tablet had articles that told him the answer. He'd never been to school before. His father and brothers told him it was a waste of time and only weaklings need their nose in a book to be strong. Knowledge was okay, but muscles were great. He could always recall Uma teaching him how to read. He never learned before considering the one time he brought a book home to learn on his own (because how hard could it be?), his father took the book, tore the pages from its spine, and tossed them in his face in a blinding outrage of yelling. He only kept one page and that was what Uma taught him with. He was grateful now, if he couldn't read, then none of this would mean anything to him. There was a lot of reading in school. He knew that was because it was like talking a lot without using a voice. Which was very helpful when there was so much information.

He didn't have a hard time talking to people so far. Most of them didn't realise he was Isle until he said so. Girls giggled at things he said and guys kept feeling the need to tell him that he was 'a pretty cool guy'. Gil spilled out into the crowded hallway with all the other students, picked a direction, and walked in it. The people weren't overwhelming. There were people everywhere all the time back home. He just...wasn't sure where to go. That was fine though. He wasn't sure of a lot of things! "Gil!" Gil paused and listened again for the sound of someone calling his name. When it was loud, sounds seemed to come out of thin air. "Gil." The voice spawned behind him and he turned, to his delight, Harry managed to spot him in the hall. "Harry! How was your first class? I had biology. It was super fun. There were orders and classes and stuff." Harry nodded and began to walk which Gil always took as a signal to follow. "History. What's the point of learning about nonsense already past?"

"I think there's a saying about that."

"Gil." Gil puffed up his cheeks in silence, blowing out the air slowly to deflate them and kept walking, reading the signs and looking for the label on the door. He visited every classroom yesterday just to look. He figured he'd know it when he saw it. "You do realise we're just walking nowhere right?" Gil nodded without really hearing the question and grinned when he saw Uma leaning against the wall in front of a classroom door. If that wasn't the class he'd be shocked. Uma always knew where to go and she was never late. Upon getting closer he could see her conversing with someone else. Another girl who was very obviously not Isle. She was short and every color she wore was soft and pink. Her face was pretty, but unfamiliar. Features small and rounded, like a doll. The girl nodded when Uma spoke, but seemed to have on a more relaxed sort of face. Like the conversation wasn't very serious. Whenever she spoke, she was very expressive with grandiose gestures and eye rolls and nose wrinkling. When they finally made it, the classroom door was Remedial Goodness and Uma was...laughing. Not a lot of things made Uma laugh so now their conversation made him curious. "Hey Uma! I think this is our only class together. Except lunch." She turned and nodded at the both of them. "I see you found it. I never once doubted you. Audrey, this is Gil and the one behind him who looks ready to burst into flames is Harry. Harry. Are you good?" Gil turned around and Harry seemed to be away. Off in his own world, which happened from time to time. Gil could only describe it as away. Uma usually told him not to worry about it, he figured the rules hadn't changed just because they were in Auradon. "Your name is Audrey right? I'm Gil. Son of Gaston." He smiled and nodded as if he were very sure of himself and Audrey responded in a short laugh. "Yeah you are. Do you guys want to head in? I need to get a late pass from FG for my next class anyway."

The class was only full of people Gil knew! Which should've been obvious, but it was still exciting and comforting. He picked a seat next to Uma as Harry decided to sit by himself. "Hello class! Look at how we've grown! From 4 students to almost 20. Now before we begin the learning experience, I want to eliminate any potential distractions which means a seating chart. Only for now-" Fairy Godmother was quickly cut off my a symphony of complaints and groans. "Hush children. Only for now and we'll see how it works for us. If we could all rise from our seats and stand at the front of the room next to me." Everyone moved in a chaotic cluster to get to the front, even though there was room to not push each other. "I'll just point and call a name. You sit where I point. No whining please." 

Gil ended up in the second table to the front which made him one of the first few to be called. He sat next to Jay, who faced straight ahead, mostly ignoring him. "Mal you can sit there. Then we can put Uma right- Yes sweetheart?" Gil raised his hand as soon as he heard Uma's name. His arm shot straight in the air, he learned it was the best way to get these teachers' attention. "Uma can't sit there. She can sit by me." Fairy Godmother directed Uma to the seat next to Mal again. "Remember what I said about whining sweetie. I picked these seats myself. Now, we have our nice, new, productive seating. We're not sitting next to our little friends anymore so talking shouldn't be an issue in the learning environment!" FG turned to face the board and begin writing on it. "We'll start with multiple ch-"

"Hmm...it seems a little Shrimpy over here now." Chair legs scuffed against tile floors to make sounds like thunder as everyone turned to face the back of the room. "Do you have a problem already Bertha? Besides...the usual."

"Not to sound condescending but if you keep looking my way then you look like the one with the problem. And don't call me that."

"Sorry Lady Mal. Or would you prefer Bitch?"

"Ladies! We keep our tones, actions, and vocabulary professional in the learning environment!" Fairy Godmother stood at the front of the class with her arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently against the floor. "We do not use profane language in the learning environment, Miss Uma. And we certainly do not antagonize others in any environment, Miss Mal." Gil bit the inside of his cheeks, trying to think of a way he could help. Mal and Uma next to each other was worse than the entire class next to whoever they wanted to be next to. He looked to the left side of the room at Harry, sat next to Evie. Harry didn't look at him, but he seemed tense of course and so did Evie. "You two will keep your eyes and hands to yourselves, not speak to each other or about each other and focus on the lesson. Now, our question is here 'You find an abandoned newborn. What do you do? Do you…?  
A.) Toss it down a well  
B.) Leave it where it is  
C.) Try to see if it has anything valuable  
D.) Look for an appropriate location to take it'."  
Celia raised her hand slowly after a solid 30 seconds of no one jumping to answer. "Do I know whose baby it is?" Gil nodded at the question. It was a very good point. If he saw a baby he knew on the ground it would maybe be different. "I- No. You have never before seen this infant."

"Okay. I think it's, B.) Leave it where it is."

"The correct answer is D. Why did you choose B Celia? Please elaborate to the class."

"Seems like a trap." The rest of the class nodded and murmured in automatic agreement. It made logical sense to them. There aren't just random babies for no reason. 

The rest of the class sort of went the same way and it confused Gil a little bit. It seemed like none of the questions had real answers. When he asked FG what the point was, she told him it was about morality, which he had to search on Sparkle. It made more sense, but was still strange. Then at the end of class they all had to stand and say one thing they liked about class and compliment one person. It was a puzzling class, but he hadn't gotten any questions wrong and that made Fairy Godmother pleased. Both of the teachers he'd met so far seemed to like him.   
"Come on you two." Gil and Harry, back from being away, walked with Uma down the crowded hallways and out into a beautiful circular plaza full of doors leading back into the main building. The opening was circular with flowers everywhere and an elegant rose fountain, water falling from the petals in the center. As the plant reached for the sky. It was arguably less crowded since students seemed to be using the space to get into different hallways with less people to maneuver through. Uma walked in a rapid forward march to be away from the flow of traffic before stopping and facing the two of them. "You know, Mal spends 5 minutes away from the Isle, grabs a boyfriend and gets 20 times worse." Harry shook his head, rotating his hook quickly enough for it to look like some piece of machinery. "She just can't handle acting a wee bit grown up for an hour. Not to mention I'm stuck next to her number one fan the Blueberry. She looks like she'll pop me right into a mirror if I look at that half-fae, half-fiend nuisance for more than 10 seconds." 

Gil was about to toss in his input on the situation right up until he saw a group of 3 guys with some sort of sports equipment approaching. "Hey! You guys are like Isle kids right? I'm Chad. Chad Charming. The last name's self explanatory." The Chad that spoke handed his gear to the boys to his side and smiled. He seemed like that poster of what a perfect Auradon kid looked like. He was in his blue and yellow sports uniform, his blond hair was perfectly styled and held in place even when a gentle breeze passed by, his teeth radiated a brightness similar to the sun. "Self explanatory. Is it though?" Uma always had really eloquent, quick comebacks. Thinking on her feet was why she made such a good captain. Not just on a ship. Anywhere. "You're Ursula's kid right? I saw you coming from the mystical VKs Need to Learn to be Good class." He looked down at Uma and then right over the top of her head. He looked at Harry and Gil up and down as they stood on her right. "We just wanted to welcome you all to Auradon and make sure you were being nice and all. Mal and her friends were a bit of trouble when they first arrived. Well, it was nice to meet you all." Chad seemed strange, but Gil hadn't been able to foresee his next action and neither, apparently, had Uma. Chad and his gaggle of 3 other boys began to walk off and Chad stumbled to the side, crashing into Uma who was not ready to receive a hit of any sort in such a goody goody, over monitored environment. Gil lunged straight forward to grab her arm before she tripped right into the collected crisp, clear water in the fountain. "Sorry! We'd help but we'll be late!" They began to walk to the nearest door. 

Some students who were able to see it passing by stopped in shock. Harry growled several unintelligible words, too accent obscured for Gil to understand and started off in the direction of the unformed boys. Gil turned to grab him, remembering how Uma had implored them to avoid trouble for a while to make the Auradonians favor them while she did her thing. "Harry wait! Remember Uma said to n-" The sound of gasps crashed Gil's train of thought automatically. He looked at the students who had their phones out and facing the fountain, the water still flowed gently behind him. Gil was bad at predictions. He could ask questions, predict events with dozens of hints beforehand, and he was very good at eating anything without becoming ill. Still, he had a feeling that even if he was good at predictions, he wouldn't have been able to predict what he saw when he looked where everyone else was looking. All eyes on Uma. She hadn't moved from the fountain after falling into it, with good reason. Her hair remained mostly dry, her shirt was slightly dampened, but nothing a few minutes of air drying couldn't fix. Her shoes and jeans, however, were absolutely lost beyond repair. They had been destroyed in a somehow amazingly silent metamorphosis that altered her from full girl with 4 limbs, to half girl with 10 limbs. Her lower half was that of an octopus, an elegant aquatic creature fascinating to view in any moment excluding this one. The tentacles spilled over the sides of the marble, glistening in the sunlight. The new limbs were a mesmerizing deep blue, breathtaking to look at. They all moved slowly and in unison, recoiling into the water as if to hide in embarrassment. The traffic to classes began to get so congested as people stood and stared or recorded, that a teacher stomped into the plaza and shrieked in a shrill, nasally voice. "You're all late and I will message each and every one of your teachers telling them to mark you tardy and give you extra assigned readings! Get to class right now! Those of you that know me know I'm not kidding." The students did seem to know whoever she was because they all scattered as quickly as possible, stumbling past each other. 

The woman was short and petite, wearing business attire and her fiery red hair in a tight bun. "Oh dear. Hello again Harrison." Harry nodded in annoyance, so Gil stepped forward and cleared his throat. "She fell and now she's...missing legs. Or...she has more legs." The woman held out her hands. Smiling apologetically at the 3 of them. "Just wait right here. You two can stay as well and try to figure something. I'm going to go grab the Headmistress. She'll come back and sort this out." Harry grumbled something about crushing Chad into nothing more than a speck of dust when he saw him again and Gil walked slowly to sit on the edge of the fountain. "I'm sorry I didn't catch you." Harry paused in his rant, coming to sit on the other side of her. "It's fine. I was off my game. A baby could've seen that coming."

"I don't think this is how the first days of school go."

"Me neither Gil."

"If it makes you feel better, I think you're still very pretty."

Uma chuckled, leaning back against the stem of the rose. "I'm a fish Gil. I'm sure the standards of pretty aren't that high."

"Well actually you're not."

"What?"

"You're not a fish. You're a cephalopod. It's where octopuses and squids and stuff go."

"What?" Harry and Uma both repeated the prior question in unison, staring at Gil as if his words were more shocking than Uma no longer having legs. Gil stared blankly back at them, looking over his shoulder to make sure they were actually looking at him. He looked back in pure confusion. "What?"

"Never fear! Fairy Godmother is here! Let's see what we have- Oh dear. Well this shouldn't be an issue but it's certainly a conundrum. I hope you don't mind that King Ben has come along. We were in a meeting when your situation was posed to us." Ben peeked out from behind her and waved politely. "Just-How do I fix it?" Gil could hear Uma getting more and more fed up with every sentence FG said. She smiled and looked Uma up and down, mumbling something to herself before nodding. "Well I think you just need to dry off. How strong are you two?" Gil looked up at an imaginary corner to ponder a correct answer. "Dry off? I showered yesterday and managed to maintain two legs." 

"Well the fountain is saltwater dearest. Boys? Can you please help? That should be all she needs." Gil nodded and stood, grabbing Uma's hands, Harry waited, assuming Gil could handle it. Nothing was ever heavy for Gil. Especially not Uma. But when he pulled, she hardly budged. "You're really...heavy?" Harry scoffed and took a step forward. "Let me help." Uma waved her hands in annoyance, signaling both of them to move back. "I'll do it myself." She gripped the edge of the fountain, slowly and clumsily moving her new limbs to the edge. It was her body and still she seemed to be struggling to move it. It was like a shimmery, dark, seemingly gelatinous liquid spilling over the side as she pulled herself out. Gil opted to move back even further, almost bumping into Ben when he saw how much space she was occupying. He figured Ursula looked similar in size if not larger, but he had never seen Ursula actually. "This concrete is mad uncomfortable." She shifted and wriggled in discomfort, each arm moving independently, curling towards Uma in tight coils and away from her at an extremely reduced rate once she had finally exited the fountain.

"Just wait here until you're almost dry and I'll close off the plaza. You'll need something to cover up with when you change back." Gil looked around before looking at the jacket tied around his waist which he knew would be massive for Uma. Or at least for normal Uma. He slowly untied it with great focus. "I have this."

"Thanks Gil." He smiled at her, hoping it might lift her spirits. She seemed tired and he knew she was annoyed. Between Mal and FG and Chad and the fountain, it was a wonder she hadn't lost her temper yet. He was trying his best to think of something she seemed to like that he could find in Auradon. An idea struck him and he began to do his best to plan. Uma didn't seem to be taking a liking to Auradon as a place and definitely not to the people. Maybe she'd want to go back home. That would be fine by Gil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love...writing Gil chapters. They're so much fun. Just the way he sees the world and how he views other people is a grand time. 
> 
> So Gil is a lover of knowledge. Not surprising since I made him a question asker. I know that in canon he's meant to be kind of...'stupid', but most people I've met like that in real life LOVE learning. Typically their life has kept them from it *cough cough* Gaston.  
> So yes, Gil is a lot more intelligent than people peg him to be. Just to avoid confusion, Gil enjoys Auradon, but if Uma wanted to leave he'd go with her. 
> 
> Also...Uma. I guess I have to talk about how hard that was to write. I was struggling with the imagery to the point where I watched octopus videos! Yes though, if Fairy Godmother didn't clue you in, she transforms in saltwater. It's just her bod recognising the combo of magic and being right at home. So no, regular old water won't change her, don't worry.
> 
> Also in case anyone was curious, the teacher that broke up the crowd was Harry's history teacher!
> 
> Next chapter is a Mal chapter! My first Mal chapter. I'm excited! Anyhow, tell me what you think!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	10. Katagelophobia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal isn't too keen on many things. She can't stand Uma being in Auradon and she's having some major....internal struggles?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Caution! Mal is sad.

"Have you guys seen this?" Mal laid her head on the desk, gazing at her assignment in absolute boredom. The paper had about 4 sentences on it and she hated all of them. Evie sat on her own bed behind her and all was relatively quiet to the point of being painful until Carlos walked in the room, phone in hand. Mal shot straight up at the question, excited for any excuse to escape the work. Evie would scold her if she took breaks for too long with no reason. "See what?" She stood and sat on the bed next to Evie and Carlos began to scroll on his phone. "Everyone's talking about it so if you have to ask what then you haven't seen it." He sat in front of them and they leaned over his shoulders to see the small screen. He pressed play on a video and it was someone holding their own phone over people's heads and still managing to have people's heads in the frame. "It's Belle Plaza. Carlos this video quality sucks. What are we supposed to be watching?" She rested her chin on his shoulder and sighed, waiting for something to happen. The camerawork finally leveled up in quality and Mal's eyes widened, she grabbed the phone from his hands, much to Carlos' displeasure and put the screen close to her face. "Is that...Uma? She can do that?"

"Mal! I can't see! Sharing." Evie put a hand on her shoulder and she leaned back to put the screen in her view. "Okay Carlos where did you find this video?" Evie looked at him and looked back to her book of dress sketches she'd been working on. "I told you! Everyone's talking about it. It's kinda cool right? Like...I'm sure it would be cooler underwater but like Evie could get some dress inspo level of cool."

"I do love me a good blue gown…"

"Ew. I didn't know they move all their arms, tentacles, whatevers at the same time. It's grossing me out. It's almost as gross as Evie not telling me that my ultimate rival was coming to Auradon." She handed the phone back to Carlos and stared at her best friend. "Don't start this again. Mal I have to pick everyone eventually. Plus, Uma was actually doing pretty well overall until you had to call her Shrimpy in class."

"She kept looking at me! I mean, who knows what evil things she's planning?"

"You mean like us?"

"Yes! Wait...Evie you can't do that."

"It's what you mean right?"

"That's literally not the same. Uma is up to no good and I know it. Back me up here Carlos." Carlos looked between the two of them before sliding further up on the bed and laying down. He didn't seem to care that much about Mal complaining about Uma. It was typical. He perked up in a sarcastic voice, talking like a soap opera detective. "Yeah now that you mention it, I did see Uma and Audrey talking and laughing outside of class." Evie rolled her eyes like she was listening to a bad scary story, turning the page to start a new sketch. "See? Uma and Audrey together? They can't be up to anything good. Neither of them laugh like ever! Evie you're not listening."

"I am M. I think you're just anxious which is fine. Still, do you notice a common pattern here?".

"They're both evil and can't be trusted?"

"No. They're people you have a poor relationship with. Not everyone is out to get you Mal. I promise. Did it ever occur to you that Audrey just wants friends again? She can be friends with whoever she wants and not be plotting your demise."

"Or she can do both. I'm- I'm...late. I'm late! I have a date with Ben and I am so late. Where's my book?" She sprung from the bed and ran to her arguably more messy side of the room, tossing blankets around to find her spellbook. "Under your nightstand." She crouched down and just as stated, the book with its metallic dragon cover was right underneath her nightstand. She snatched it along with a small bag, shoving it inside. She smiled at Evie. "Thank you! I'd be nothing without you!"

"Stop using the book!" Evie leaned forward and called after her. Mal grabbed her small bag off the back of the door and was out out of the door, book tucked underneath crumpled assignments. It wasn't that she couldn't use...magic here exactly. It was more like her mother's spellbook was only filled with dark spells which could cause reasonable worry. She was just picking the not dark ones so it was fine. A minor appearance change spell, how else would her hair be such a perfect bleach blonde and not be damaged? Just small things that don't even categorize as dark magic. Ben had been asking her for weeks now if she could find the book. She kept telling him it was lost somewhere in the mess that was her room. Kept telling him that. She just wasn't ready to let it go. Making up spells off the top of her head was tough and potentially dangerous. The book had everything she needed. She just wasn't sure if she could let it go. They couldn't make her donate the book ask long as she didn't use it to destroy the world or anything. It was her book and her giving it is what made it a donation. Evie gave up her mirror on her own. Mal, on the other hand, just didn't want to. The only reason she said she would is because it's what Ben wanted. He would want her to do this all on her own and be capable in herself. Still, she began to realise that she wasn't as capable in Auradon as she used to be at home. And that bothered her. It scared her. Without the magic she was mediocre. 

She was tempted to teleport to the Enchanted Lake rather than normal transportation like everyone else. She decided against it, realising that she liked to use magic when she was upset. Rules back home made sense. They were so simple and easy to follow. Not like the everlasting and complicated set of instructions that came with dating a king. Dress modestly, yet fashionably. Be friendly to the people, but also distant. Tell people personal things, careful to avoid too much. The rules changed for her and it felt more like an eternal list of orders. Her heels stirred the gravel along the trail as she rushed to the clearing to meet Ben. Of course, there he sat with a tiny lunchbox, waiting. He looked to be drawing on the floor of stone in the crumbled pavilion with his finger. "Ben! I'm so sorry I'm late!" Mal jogged forward, figuring that if she continued to walk it would just be rude. "I know you have so much to do and you blocked out this time from your schedule. I'm really sorry. I lost track of time." She dragged her feet across the stone and plopped down next to Ben on the soft blanket he'd laid out. "It's fine. I'd be the first one to admit that classes eat up time just as much as ruling a kingdom." He chuckled at his own joke, subconsciously fluffing his hair up. Mal smiled, unzipping the lunchbox and grabbing the tiny container of strawberries. "How are things with the VKs? Must be a lot of work. I know we're a handful." She pried the lid off with a satisfying series of snaps. "It's actually going pretty well. I mean they were way worse off than you guys when you arrived. But they're adjusting...I hope. Besides, no one's had any issues yet."

"Really?" She spun the crimson berry in her fingers, the cold adding a chill to her hand. "What about...Uma? Her and her crew were major troublemakers at home." She bit into the berry, turning to look at him. She didn't trust Uma as far as she could throw her and she'd be damned if she let anything happen to Ben in the midst of all the new VKs. Ben perked up instantly at the mention of the name. The name. Her mother had taught her about there being power in a name. That's why she said she never deserved a full one. Still, Mal never quite understood that concept until she was a tiny bit older and met Uma. Names did have power. "She seems interesting. Really smart. A lot of VKs talked about her. Were you guys friends back on the Isle?" Mal's instant reaction was laughter that almost made her spit out a piece of strawberry she'd just bitten. "Uma and me? Friends? As if. I was just saying she's a troublemaker but like...not in a complimentary way. We don't get along even slightly. You might want to keep your eye on her considering she is a witch." Ben smiled briefly, taking a bagel from the lunchbox. "I'm aware Mal. I'm not a huge stranger to magic anymore with my girlfriend being a fairie and having been spelled and all. Did you bring something? I can't always bring snacks." Ben squinted at her small bag and reached for it, prompting Mal to snatch it from his grasp. "I was in a hurry from class. I didn't bother to stop by the room to drop my stuff off. Just a bunch of school stuff. I'm sorry. I'll bring snacks next time! Promise." She giggled uncomfortably, fingertips pressing into the leather of the bag. "Oh. Well I'm counting on you for the snacks on our next date then. You better keep your promise." She nodded, placing the bag behind her and grabbing Ben's hand. "I will. You excited for Cotillion? I know you have one every year but…it'll be your first one as King. How's that?"

"Stressful actually. I liked it better when my parents handled the details and I just...showed up."

"Well I can help! Or I can try. I don't know much about this stuff but you always have your hands full. Let me help."

Ben zipped up the lunchbox, smiling that same soft, genuinely happy smile as he looked back at Mal. All it did was make her stomach turn in the way one feels before vomiting. She felt so bad about lying to Ben. Still, he couldn't do magic. He wouldn't understand why she needed her book. Then she'd have to admit that she lied about it being lost and that she broke her promise to donate it to the museum because she never had any intentions to do it to begin with. He kissed her forehead and lent her a hand to stand up and get ready to leave. "You can help by helping the new VKs adjust. They're going through the same things you guys went through. See you soon?"

"Yeah. Always. I have to get going or I'll totally be late." Mal started off, bag slung over her shoulder and held in place by her hand. "Mal!" She stopped and turned to the sound of gravel shifting and then leaves crunching. "Mal. If you...ever wanted to talk to me, about anything, you know you could right?" He reached down to her side, taking her free hand. "Ben. Of course!"

"Okay cool. So whenever you feel like it, I know you had a free period before this. Not class. Don't worry. I have to get going now, but whatever it is and whenever you tell me, I'll always listen." Then he was gone. Just like that. She looked down the trail he went to only to find it empty. She looked at her hand, feeling the warmth and making a fist, as if she could trap such a comforting feeling in her hands forever. 

"You're too good for me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Katagelophobia is the fear of ridicule.
> 
> I felt like personally Mal needed more layers. The movies didn't do a character that could be such an onion enough justice. In fact, in the Descendants 2 deleted scene, an If Only Reprise she gets more character development than she did in 3 whole movies.
> 
> Mal's not a bad guy but that doesn't make the way she acts right. It's just me getting in her head and formulating how I think she feels. Which will better explain why she acts the way she does. The second movie briefly addresses her impostor syndrome which I will keep presently present.
> 
> Also yeah! Ben caught Mal in her lie. This man will remain a sweetheart like in the canon but with way more brains. We all know he was educated for it. 
> 
> Basically, from here on out, I have granted Mal some extra layers. Do with that information what you will. 
> 
> Tell me how you feel about the chapter!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	11. Affection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry chapter! Harry actually gets into trouble which isn't great for him. A perfect way to spend a Friday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: A tiny bit of not super graphic violence and blood. I think that's it? Nothing too heavy because is there ever?
> 
> But there is some Huma! Considering this is a Huma fic after all.

Friday was apparently the last day of a school week until Monday. Here he was, thinking school was only two days every week. That seemed like more than enough from his personal experiences so far. The easiest class he had was history class with Mrs. Blanc, but that was only the beginning of the day. She gave him a hard time but it wasn't much work to read something and then talk about it. His least favorite class was pre calculus, which his teacher shortly discovered was far too advanced for him. His last class of the day was the loudest. Art. Visual and 2D arts. He figured that was because people were keen to leave and art wasn't really a high stakes class. He sat at the table closest to the door. By himself. People had sat there when he first arrived in the class, but Harry wanted to be by the exit, so he made them move just by asking. Very nicely. 

He drew what he wanted since he had the supplies for once and just…generally tried to muffle all the noise around him. It seemed like the sounds were different here. To the point of being irritating. Their conversations were so stupid to him. All day long it was what clothes to wear tomorrow, how to do the homework, who to take to Cotillion. He found it so aggravating because, well, that's what they worried about. They got to live lives so easy and perfect that their biggest worries were if they'd turn in the homework in on time. Meanwhile, 17 years of his life and one of his biggest worries from day to day became the question of if he'd make it to the next day. For a number of reasons. So, he dragged the pencil across the paper, making gentle, delicate lines. He wasn't sure what he was drawing and he kept his face so close to the paper that he couldn't see the big picture. It felt like he wasn't even the one drawing. He was just watching some lad put lines on paper. He leaned over the lad's shoulder to peek at the drawing and it was Ursula's, now Uma's necklace around someone's neck. Just a neck and collarbones. No face. No body. "That's actually really gross. Poor Ariel. She had to deal with that. Think about it the next time you're in history class." Harry blinked several times before turning to the table behind him. It was a table of four and one of the girls had her tablet propped up on the table, art supplies messily occupying the rest of the space. "I don't know about you guys, but I feel like once you get past the rest, she's kind of attractive." One of the boys rested his chin in his hand, looking at the screen before the other boy nearly elbowed him out of his seat. "So you would kiss an octopus?" At this point, Harry was well aware of the context of the conversation and their comments didn't sit very well with him. In fact, it was times like this where he wished he was capable of magic. To make his hook nice and sharp again. "I'd do more than kiss her. She's still a girl! A very attractive girl. Don't make me seem weird because you have no taste." The other girl at the table hit him playfully, laughing. 

Harry stood suddenly, chair scraping against the tile floor and drawing the attention of the entire room. Including the quartet he'd been listening in on. "You good man? Hook right?" The boy looked to the girl that just hit him anxiously, face shifting to a bright crimson. Harry turned and walked right up to him, smirking briefly. "You wanna say that again?" The boy's light brown eyes shifted back and forth between Harry and his friends. Friends who did nothing in the way of backing him up. "Look man. Uh you're a VK? You must know that girl. I didn't mean disrespect." He tried to release a strangled laugh but it only came out as a whimper. Harry stood very still for a moment or two, it seemed like no one was too sure what he'd do. So they too, remained still. He tilted his head, tapping his hook against his leg before reaching out with his free hand and gripping the boy by the back of his head. It was a tight grip that latched onto the boy's hair, considering when anyone talked bad about Uma, they were meant to remember something bad happening to them alongside that memory. Cause and effect. So by habit, with all caution thrown to the wind, in one fluid motion, Harry shoved the art supplies and the girl's tablet from the table with his hook right before slamming the boy's face into the table. It all happened in the span of maybe 30 seconds and he pushed the boy away, onto the floor. Harry backed away slowly and the girls both keeled on the floor next to him, attempting to stop his nose from bleeding. The boy glared at him as blood ran down his chin. Harry stared right back, picking up his drawing from his table. "Well it was disrespectful." 

Harry was soon after, aggressively escorted to the Headmistress' office. He was shoved through the frosted glass door and seated in a chair that faced a large desk. The office was full of motivational posters and pictures of Fairy Godmother with students. Fairy Godmother herself entered the office a few seconds later, sitting at her large leather chair behind the desk. "Well then Harry. I didn't expect to see you again until class on Monday."

"Yeah? Well I got unlucky."

"Would you mind telling me what happened with you and Kevin?"

"Who?"

"The boy you attacked. We will pay for his medical fees and any damaged art supplies. Now I just want to understand what happened so we can avoid it in the future."

"Him and his idiot friends were mouthing off about Uma. So I decided to make sure he didn't anymore. I thought you all had gentlemen here. From what I've seen, I'm the most proper lad present."

"So because he spoke about Uma in a way that upset you, you nearly broke his nose?"

"That about sums it up, yeah. Anything else?"

"Under normal circumstances there'd be many more consequences for something like this. But we can't have something like that with a VK right away. So, on Monday you will come back here and I will escort you to the In School Suspension room. You do all your classes and work by yourself. Understood?"

"Sure. Right. Can I go now? Class is over for the day." 

He was let go with strict orders to report to the office Monday morning, but nothing was to say he wouldn't skip school altogether. He made his way to the library, a massive building on the West side of the campus. No one looked at him differently, lucky for him, no one in class thought to record him in art. He had his drawing rolled up in his back pocket, rushing to the library. He'd promised Uma that they would meet at the library after school for research. Gil said he had something very important to do and neither of them questioned it. The farthest side of the library was empty and in fact, few students were even near the building. Everyone found something boring after all. Uma stood by the side of the building, a stack of 7 thick books cradled in her arms. "You're late. I already checked out a few. Have a hard time finding it?" Harry pointed his hook at her, slinking forward. He contemplated telling Uma what had happened in class which was the cause of his being late. He had gone against her direct orders to avoid trouble while in Auradon. Perhaps later in the evening would be a better time to bring that up. Currently, Uma seemed excited, a sign that she'd picked up some interesting information. "Your face looks better. If still sort of terrible. Make sure you take your medicine."

"I will. Don't fuss." Harry placed his forearm against the wall and looked at Uma. Her face was hard and as always, tired. She leaned back against the wall, holding the books she decided were good enough to keep from the library. He never thought about it often but she really trusted him. She was relaxed and he was hovering over her maybe a foot away. Realistically on the Isle, a situation like this meant trapped. A wall to your left, an arm to your right, a person bigger than you in front of you, and your back against the wall. The ultimate formula for a bad time on the Isle. Uma was unbothered though, analyzing the spines of the books with an inquisitive look. "Did you find anything exciting at the library? Anything good to use?" He tapped his hook softly against the bricks just above her head. "The history books are very exciting. By exciting I mean very useful and anger inducing because I can't believe we never learned any of this before. And-You always do that. You can't ask me a question and then not pay attention." Uma tilted her head and raised an eyebrow questioningly. Harry's idle smirk that typically formed when he listened to Uma talk, grew into a...smile. A smile. Not a smirk or a grin, it was there for a moment until Harry noticed its presence. Then, it was gone, quick as it came. It was true, to most, it seemed like such an entranced stare on him that it couldn't be possible he was absorbing any information. Harry had heard every word she said though, mentally commending her for finding books exciting in any way. He took half a step forward, which was as much forward as he could walk before the books pressed against his chest, serving as a barrier of several inches. He wrapped piece of her hair around his index finger, staring at her and twisting it boredly, which she didn't seem to mind. Her face was radiating waves of cool air that caused his hair to stand up when his palm brushed by her cheek. Or perhaps her face was normal and his hands were scalding. "Who wouldn't l-"

"Is that PDA I see? Come on Harrison. It's me trying to work with you. We all love love here, but no PDA on school grounds." From the direction of the front doors of the library, heels clicked against the concrete and a nasally voice followed. Mrs. Blanc was rather aggravating for him for reasons he couldn't explain. He'd never had an adult fuss so much about what he was doing all the damn time. He seemed to keep getting in trouble today, but Mrs. Blanc was a different entity. She picked on him in class and called him more than he was comfortable with to give answers. It felt like she was challenging him. Harry tried his best to run at challenges head first. It was obviously some form of Auradon teaching trick because it made him pay attention just for the look on her face when he got answers right. He'd never been so engaged in school, ever in life. Both positively and negatively. Although he was getting a sense that there were underlying good intentions, that didn't make her less annoying. He leaned down closer, next to Uma's ear and sighed. "I will bite her head off one day." Uma laughed quietly and it felt like a soft ocean breeze. She patted his shoulder in a sarcastically, reassuring manner. "Try to suppress the urge. What did you do to this woman anyways? It's been two days and it's your first class. You should be nice and quiet in at least that one class." Harry sprung up, standing straight and grinning at the woman standing a few feet away, arms crossed, not a single hair out of place in her unimaginably tight bun. Harry was curious if her face would fall off if she took her hair down. "That sounds like a rule. I do my best to challenge those. Can you tell me what a PDA is so I can be sure to do it more often in the near future?"

"You're a real laugh Mr. Hook. No public displays of affection. Hugs and hand holding are fine but I better not see any kissing and for goodness sake, leave some room for education. I'm sure you're a lovely girl Uma, but hopefully not so lovely that I don't get my Chapter 10 Vocabulary from Mr. Hook here. I'll be seeing you both in the halls! Preferably at an appropriate distance apart." The woman smiled as her heels clicked right past them around the corner and presumably, into the library. 

Realistically, Blanc didn't have to worry about him kissing anyone. Certainly not Uma. The way they were was just sort of...like that. Harry liked being close to Uma and she allowed him to be close. Key Word: allowed. It wasn't romantic and Harry still wasn't entirely sure what categorised as affection. Uma scoffed, waving her hand and signalling him to walk with her back in the direction of the dorms. She handed Harry the books, holding on to one to read as they walked. He took them easily and without question. "Rules about affection? You'd think we're on the Isle with a rule like that." She walked slowly as she read the book, mumbling the comment as the occasional person walked around the pair and Harry subconsciously made sure she didn't run into anything even though she was probably fine. "What? You mean we haven't kissed before?" He put a hand to his chest, gasping dramatically. "In your dreams perhaps Harry." 

"Well...that statement wouldn't be inaccurate." She squinted at him from the corner of her eye before turning back to the book. "I a-" He was cut off by a ball of pale pink, fast approaching. "What is that?" He pointed at the blur and Uma looked up. "That is Audrey." Audrey was apparently someone he'd met the previous day, but nothing about her felt familiar. She waved at Uma, smiling politely, Harry was sure to be cautious of any Boreadon brat who suddenly wanted to make nice with a VK. "Uma! I told you I'd find you later. Do you remember? Before sixth. We need to talk about your notes in first period, we have an active quiz coming up. Hi Harry! I see you went to the library. Pick up anything useful?" She spoke so fast like there wouldn't be enough time for words if she didn't say them all now. Her voice was light and energetic like a bird and something that could begin to annoy Harry in no time. Uma replied back instantly much to Harry's shock. "I'm surprised you didn't forget. Yeah I picked up a lot of stuff. We can use it for studying." She turned and held her hands out to Harry for the books. He slowly handed them to her, squinting at Audrey. "What am I meant to do? Surely not my vocabulary." Both girls were silent but Audrey piped up first. "You could join a club. Something...athletic. You look like that would be your speed. Maybe...Jay can help you out. He plays sports. I'm borrowing Uma for a while though. No boys allowed." She grabbed half of the books from Uma and began to walk. Uma brushed the back of her hand against his. "I'll see you soon. Audrey's right. Go find a team. They let you hit people. Without getting in trouble."

Harry resisted the urge to laugh at Uma's comment, considering it was a bit late to hit people without getting in trouble. He was about to head back to his dorm and maybe find Gil for some casual troublemaking before he heard that infernal voice call out to him. "Mr. Hook!" Harry decided to walk faster in hopes that she would give up. Of course, he forgot that magic was a very valid thing until Fairy Godmother materialized in front of him. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Yes. Look I'll be at your suspension or whatever next week. Stop bothering me." 

"I'm glad to hear it! Still, in light of your...incident and a few other things, you have a visitor so if you'd come with me that would be wonderful."

"You lot are awfully good at making it sound like we have a choice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's Eating Harry Hook???
> 
> Also double uploads!
> 
> Harry is not having a great time adjusting. The teacher that saved the day in chapter 9 gets a name! Harry is very much frustrated. These people have been living their best lives while he's be struggling. Bitter is in the tags after all.
> 
> Also make sure you note the few lines about Harry feeling like he was watching some other guy draw his drawing in art and how he doesn't even remember meeting Audrey. Curious.
> 
> If you really thought Harry would let a guy talk about Uma so tastelessly...well you were wrong. If you thought Harry got off too easily...he did. They can't have VKs in trouble already. It would make Ben look bad.
> 
> Fun Fact: This entire chapter was literally born from Uma and Harry leaning against the wall at the library. So...I wrote the middle of the chapter first and then wrote around it.
> 
> What on Earth are Uma and Audrey up to? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z!
> 
> Give me your opinions, questions, predictions or just say something nice! I do my best to answer them all.
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	12. The Loneliness of Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uma and Audrey!!! Practicing Magic!!! Talking About Thoughts!!! Today Only!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Audrey is actually quite a sad character in here and very anxious so just keep that.

"And Harry is?"

"My first mate." Audrey nodded slowly, they were pirates so that made sense. Audrey had been trying her best not to seem too excited about hanging out with Uma, but she was. She was just so lonely. It was hard to get used to not having someone to turn and talk to on a whim or someone to text for an instant response. The loneliness was crippling for her. She had never dealt with something like that before. She had hoped that a few of her "friends" would see it her way and remain by her side, but as she came to learn, Auradonians were so fickle. They flocked to wherever they thought the good was and away from anything less than perfect. Anything they deemed subpar. Audrey was still a nice girl. Or she wanted to be. They acted like something had to be wrong with her for Ben to choose another girl over her. It was hard to remain the same when everything around her was changing. When everyone but her was acting like she had already changed. 

"This is my dorm. I don't have a roommate so there's way more space and we don't have to worry about noise. You can just set your stuff on the floor there. ...Yeah. Do you need anything or?" Audrey closed the door and stood by it, hands clasped together. Uma dropped her bag of presumably schoolwork by the foot of the bed. She held onto the books for a while longer though. She circled the room a few times before sitting at the edge of Audrey's bed. "Why are you being so nice? What do you want?" Audrey pulled the chair away from her vanity and placed it directly in front of Uma, dropping her own stack of books on the floor. "Nothing. It's hard to find someone with the same feelings as me towards Mal so I guess that's a drawing factor." Uma set her books on the bed next to her, leaning forward and staring at her. It was the most...unsettling thing. Not embarrassing like when Ben practically broke up with her in front of the entire school. Not scary like when her grandmother scolded her for letting Ben leave her like that. Just unsettling. It felt as though if Uma squinted hard enough, she would be able to see her thoughts. "Fine. Don't forget for a second that I am a VK. I'm not soft like one of your little friends. Plus, if you can teach me magic like you say you can, I'm definitely on board for that." Audrey exhaled in relief, making a note to ask that blond haired boy if this is what Uma liking someone looked like. She only asked to hang out after lunch because that boy Gil came up to her and suggested it would be a good idea. Matter of fact, he said it would be a great idea. He said something about being worried that she didn't like Auradon too much, but he didn't want her to leave. It seemed like a strange assumption, but she didn't have anything else planned for the rest of the day anyway. In the most uncreative manner, however, the only cover she could come up with was studying. "Okay! I pay a lot of attention in class, but we only brought up regular witches. The land dwelling, arboreal variety. Still, these books should help us figure this out." She picked up the book at the bottom of her pile and cracked it open. Uma stared at her, seemingly bored to no end. "This one says that the easiest beginning teaching skill is water manipulation. One day you could totally make storms and sing to hypnotize people though. This book is on mermaids, but I figure there's probably overlap." She was actually excited to be doing this. It wasn't traditional studying and it was time with her interacting with another person who showed of their own free will, if not, technically another human being. She left the book open on her chair, ran to her bathroom, and poured her skincare from the large crystalline bowl onto the counter with several nerve wracking clattering sounds. Once filled with water, she brought the bowl back and set it on the floor in front of Uma. "So you expect me to just do this?" She raised an eyebrow at Audrey, looking back and forth between her and the bowl of water. "Well, you can't really read up on this kind of magic. It's not like a spell. It's just...you. You're magical. Wow. That sounded like a poster in Fairy Godmother's office. You get it. Just think about what you want it to do."

Audrey stepped next to Uma, deciding it was smarter than standing right in front of the bowl. Uma remained silent for a few seconds before rolling her eyes and turning to Audrey. "This is stupid. I feel stupid." Audrey leaned forward to look back at the book and its old writing and yellowing papers. People really never bothered with the library here and it showed. "Well it says that pure hydrokinesis is more advanced right here so...maybe try to use your hands and like move it? You've never done magic before in your entire life so we might need to take that into consideration. And also maybe don't worry about looking stupid? There's nobody here."

"You're here."

"...Like I said. Just...try again." She sat at the edge of the bed as Uma stood, focusing her attention to the bowl. Uma circled around and sat down, cross legged on the other side of the bowl, facing Audrey. She hadn't had company in actual months and this was the first thing she did with company. Nice going. "So...what did Mal do to you?" Uma looked up for a second before returning her attention to the water. "Mal? To be fair, maybe she could've turned out different if she didn't listen to every single thing mommy said. We were...associates, but she betrayed me to assert dominance or something. I don't know. It was stupid and she's always been ungrateful. We've never really gotten along since, but that's her fault."

"Oh. Well, I'm sorry that happened to you. Hopefully she can change."

"Change? Yeah. One of the first few things she did when she got to Auradon was screw you over. That's the thing about Mal. Her mother let her do whatever she wanted. No consequences. Training like that carries."

"You're right. I just can't get over how I seem to be the only one who cares that she flipping spelled Ben! She just...gets away with it and becomes his lady."

"Wait. Go back. She spelled Ben? The King? From my understanding, she just stole your boyfriend."

"Yeah. With a love spell." Uma inhaled sharply, squeezing her eyes shut. "Shit. Sounds like an epic case of whatever made his mom love that hairy beast. Maybe it runs in the family." Audrey chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. Uma was funny to her. She said things that no one else she normally knew would say. She was so straightforward and blunt about things she should have realised were true ages ago. She was about to add to the casual rant before looking past Uma and at the bowl. "Uma. You did something. I mean it's not...moving anything, but it's more than we had before." Uma opened her eyes and looked down at the bowl, her hand had been resting on the edge of the bowl as she tried to get a handle on the water control shenanigans. The water in the bowl was frozen solid. The glass had even begun to sprout little ice crystals. "I did that?" Within the same instant that she removed her hand from the bowl, the ice simultaneously collapsed back into liquid water. "I'm going to take a strong guess here and say yes. You did do that." Audrey slid onto the floor and stuck her pinky into the bowl. The water was room temperature as if it hadn't been a block of ice mere moments ago. This was why she studied magic. She doubted she would ever be able to do it herself, but just watching was enough for her. "This is good! I was worried that maybe you would have to be an octopus to do any magic at all. Since you're a halfling." Uma groaned at the statement, readjusting her position on the floor 3 times in a row. "All people are talking about is badly recorded videos they've seen of me. People here are stupid. Like...stupider than I previously thought." 

"You don't have to tell me. For what it's worth, I know we're not really friends or anything but you looked really pretty. If that...makes sense?"

"That's actually funny. Gil said the same thing. Maybe it's my hypnotic siren's call." She laughed at her own joke and stared at the water as Audrey anxiously pulled at her hair. It was an unfortunate habit she had picked up whenever she was nervous. She'd pluck at the ends of her hair, snapping off tiny strands and twisting them around in her fingers. "Hey. For someone that can't do magic you're an alright teacher so far." Audrey smiled, noticing how long she'd gone without simple conversation like this. It had only been a few months since Mal practically hijacked her life, but it felt like an eternity. She wondered if this was how it would feel to have been taken by Mother Gothel. Then, it clicked that at such a young age she'd never recall not being alone. No. The singularity was more in the realm of Queen Elsa. With a past lifestyle to miss. "We can practice some more if you want now that we at least know it works. Or if this is like super boring you can totally leave." 

Uma started up that thing again where she just looked at her. Audrey began to fear she was just such an open book that everything about her was so obvious. Did she seem clingy? Or did she literally look as sad as she was? "It's actually kinda fun. But I've got to pay you for lesson one so name your price. I don't like owing debts to people." Audrey's eyes widened before she took her hands and waved away the statement. "No it's like...us hanging out. Totally free of charge. Here's to hoping you can figure out the manipulation thing and knock Mal into a fountain one day." They both smiled and Audrey began to pull out more strands of hair. She was happy this was going well after all was said and done. Or...at least she felt like it was going well. Did Uma? "So...do you not like your hair or is that just nerves?"

"Both. Well I'm not exactly the best blonde. Super pale ash blonde. Welcome to How to Look Dead 101! My Grammy paid for it all and picked the colors so I can't get it redone until I go back on vacation with her. There's no one here really good enough to do anything super cool."

"Wanna bet? Come on. I know a master. Think of it as payment. Also tell your Grammy she has horrible taste."

"I said you didn't have to pay me anything." Uma was already gathering her things and standing by the door. "Come on. You can tell me more about this over saturated fever dream that is Auradon." Audrey sighed, tilting her head before she cracked a smile. "Fine. But you have to tell me what the Isle is really like."

"No problem. I can't promise that it'll be a fun conversation."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Audrey. All alone. It's hard not to be surrounded by people.
> 
> I really wanted to elaborate on the feelings Audrey expressed in Queen of Mean where she is loney guys. Her life took a major 180 and it's definitely hard to handle. She is very anxious and we will definitely see more of that try hard element. She's been trained to care what people think of her from day one so it's a hard habit to break.
> 
> Uma has magic! Uma can do magic without being underwater/ in water! Audrey really enjoys magic studies and the history of magic which is why she is having so much fun teaching her. She's also good at it. I don't know if anyone caught it but the books are about mermaids because of Ursula. They're not going to write books teaching sea witches to do magic.
> 
> Does Uma even like Audrey? What do you think? Also also, what kind of power do you think Uma will pick up next? Shower me with things you noticed while reading and theories! I love them!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	13. Unhear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dizzy meets her first real live princess! She also discovers some upsetting news and has to come to her own realizations about a thing or two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't hit you with that casual Friday/Saturday upload. Me and my father had our birthdays on Sunday! So I had to head on and hang out with him. I'll try to keep my schedule (key word: try).

Dizzy was over the moon and she didn't plan on coming down anytime soon. Auradon was everything she expected it to be and so much more. The people were so nice and the food was so good and the air was so clean. It was all so perfect. She felt as though she'd been dreaming of this day from the very moment she could remember. Auradon was all that kept her going some days back home. The idea that maybe one day she would be able to go to Auradon. Her and Evie. Then Evelyn left and she felt alone again. She sat on the bed in her dorm coloring while Celia sorted her cards next to her. She thought going to Auradon Prep meant she could see Evie and all the other big kids all the time, but apparently they had a separate building for younger children to learn and that meant the only time she really had seen Evie was when they were taken from the Isle and during Remedial Goodness. She missed Evie more now that she was here because it seemed like she was right in front of her, but still she never got to see her. "Celia. Tomorrow is the weekend. What do you want to do?" Celia shrugged, tapping the deck of cards on her knee. "I mean, we could go shopping. You always wanted to do that. Everything they have here is totally brand new. No used stuff. I got a bunch of bank from these Auradon chumps." Dizzy gnawed on her bottom lip, picking at her fingernails gently. Celia tilted her head and took a card from the top of her deck, slowly moving to poke her in the arm with it. Dizzy turned as she front of the card was lifted up to reveal a shadowy figure walking through a shiny room. "You will find good fortune in places most unexpected. That's a good card." Dizzy giggled and pushed the card away. "You always say something like that."

"Yes. But...real fortunes for my real friends. Those other people just pay me more to get good news." Celia elbowed her and they both stared at each other before falling into a fit of giggles for no real reason. Just something that happened from time to time. As they finally began to regain their breath there was a firm knock on the door. They both paused, hesitant to open it just due to old habits. After a gap of silence came a series of upbeat, rhythmic knocks which both the girls recognized instantly. Dizzy sprung to the door first and pulled it open. "Uma! You came to visit! Check out our spot. Pretty cool huh? I haven't seen one bed bug since we've been here." Celia and Dizzy hugged Uma on either sides of her as she walked into the room. "Um...Hi." There came a soft voice still in the doorway that everybody except Uma turned straight to. A short girl with pale hair and streaks of pastel running through it. Her dress was cute and pink and she plucked out strands of her hair with each passing second of quiet. "Oh yeah. I nearly forgot. Dizzy, Celia. Meet Audrey. Audrey. Meet Dizzy and Celia. Dizzy is the master I was talking about." Uma turned to look down at Dizzy, serious expression but soft features. "I have a task for you. You think you can take that hair on her head and make it well...better in any way? The starting bar is low." Dizzy turned to Audrey in the doorway and examined her, pulling her into the room and circling her as if she were a statue in a museum. "What colors do you like?" 

"I umm…I like pink. Which is how I got to where I am now. Blue? Why?" Dizzy smiled, saying nothing and looking at her face before grabbing the ends of Audrey's hair in her hand. "Dry ends. Nothing irreversible. I see minor bleach damage and strong dyeing. Totally an easy fix! ...How do you feel about short hair? Okay well I don't have any tools but Evie said if I needed help I should go get her!" She waved her hand toward the door and began to march along. Dizzy forgot a lot of things, but ever since they'd arrived she hadn't forgotten where Evie lived. She'd taken her there on the first day and it was wonderful. Her own castle. Just like a princess. Dizzy turned to her left, shielding her eyes from the sun and looking up at Audrey. "Are you a princess?" Audrey stumbled on her next step and recovered awkwardly, smiling at the question. "Yes. My mom is Sleeping Beauty. I'm First in Line for the throne of my kingdom." Dizzy was silent for a few seconds before jumping up and down and squealing in sheer excitement. "Uma! You brought a princess! I've always wanted to do a princess's hair! Or have her wear my jewelry. Or even just see a princess. You never forgot." She hugged Uma's side, practically latched onto her waist, every portion of her being vibrating with complete and utter joy. Uma smiled a thin lipped smile, patting the top of her head softly. "Well…" Audrey chimed in hesitantly, "With Cotillion coming up I've been looking for some new statement pieces. If you make jewelry as well as Uma says you do hair then I'd be happy to get a few from you." Dizzy looked behind her at Audrey and nodded frantically. "I do. I really do. I love making jewelry. I always wanted to do clothes but there was never enough good fabric on the Isle to waste like that. There was always plenty of scrap metal though!"

"Dizzy! What are you doing here? With Uma and Audrey. Hello Celia." Celia waved boredly, going back to her cards and Dizzy ran up the cobblestone pathway towards Evie, who was standing outside of her large home in complete confusion. Dizzy slammed into Evie full impact for a hug that Evie absorbed very well. "I came because I need some hair supplies. I have my very first Auradon customer. I'm going to do her hair for her and she'll look wonderful." The remaining three girls slowly approached and Evie cleared her throat. "Lucky you, I had been planning to give you supplies for a while so they're tucked in here somewhere. Sorry I haven't been to see you since the first day. I'm just so busy because it's going to be Cotillion soon. There isn't anyone who doesn't want an outfit." Evie laughed as everyone followed her in. "This place never gets any less cool every time I come in. Can I wash Audrey's hair anywhere first? While you get the stuff?" Evie nodded and pointed in the direction of the kitchen, a location she remembered exactly because she had never seen such a beautiful kitchen before. Back at her grandmother's house there wasn't even a kitchen and her grandma said that it wasn't needed since they didn't have the means to cook or enough food to store it in the fridge or pantry. "You three can head on in the kitchen. I'll help Evie get all the supplies she bought you. I'm sure it's too much for her to carry alone." They disappeared to opposite directions and Dizzy could feel the excitement building as she found a chair for Audrey to use. Evie hadn't seen how much her skills had grown since she'd been gone. She would do such an amazing job that Evie would be beyond impressed. Evie liked pretty things she was pretty sure. So that's why she liked to make clothes and things. It would most likely never occur to her that it was training more than anything. "Oh! Before I start I have to use the restroom. We'll be at this for a while and I don't want to stop once we start. Celia will keep you company!" Dizzy skipped out of the kitchen, taking a turn to the downstairs bathroom, an important location to remember anywhere. She gripped the handle, which turned without so much as a squeak, much less a creak. She took a step in and shut the door, looking at her reflection in the massive body length mirror on the back of the door. 

"Evelyn let's face facts. You are becoming shallow. Exactly the princess your mother always wanted you to be. I'm not saying you are. Just that you're getting there." Dizzy pulled back the shower curtains at the sound of a voice and stepped into the empty bathtub, able to hear much clearer when she pressed her ear against the tile wall. She was certain she could hear Evie and Uma talking about something.

"Don't call me Evelyn. I am anything but shallow. They were sitting there without a clue of how to help you guys until I asked Ben what I could do. You guys would still be on the Isle right now if it was up to them! So maybe a thank you is in order?"

"More like congratulations. You did it Evie. You've tried your hardest to turn into an Auradonian. I don't know if you know, but that little girl thinks you are more important than the Sun. I could respect if you had pulled some strings and gotten her here months before us. It's about your people you know? You just seem so...wrapped up in this."

"Do not even attempt to imply that I don't care about Dizzy. I love her like my own baby sister! She-"

"Is here now after being trapped on that trash heap without you and you've bothered to see her once for about 2 hours I heard. Because why exactly? Oh yeah. The coins you'll make off of some glittery dresses is more important. I'm just saying it seems like y'all did not want to even peek back after you got off. Too hard? Too scary? When did the guilt start to creep in? When did you realize that you had to do something?"

"Don't put words in my mouth! I care about those kids. The first few months have been so overwhelming. I never forgot. I- I could never. I just didn't want… I don't have to explain myself to you of all people."

"You're right. You don't. Can't take the Isle out of the kid right Evie?" Dizzy nearly fell on the floor when she took a step back and the backs of her knees hit the edge of the tub. Had Evie...abandoned her? It never really crossed her mind that maybe Evie had forgotten all about her. Or maybe she didn't and kept thinking of her but just decided not to come get her. It made her legs feel weak and her hands shaky. She sat on the edge of the bath and stared at her feet, crumbling the fabric of her skirt in her hands. Was it because Auradon was easier than the Isle? She knew that, but she also knew that heroes always did the hard thing. The hard thing is usually the right thing for some reason. Evie wasn't a heroine from a storybook. She was Evie. That wasn't a bad thing. It just meant that she got scared and hesitant and sometimes did the easy thing instead. Dizzy...understood, but she still felt shaky and a little sad if anything. That was one of those things that she wasn't meant to hear.

When she eventually returned to the kitchen, everything had been all set up for her. "Audrey told me you were thinking about pink? And blue?" Dizzy approached the group, smiling. "Yeah. I have a vision in mind. My craft is the closest thing to my magic. Alright! My first princess! Let's do this!" She decided to let the excitement overwhelm her questions and premature but extremely insistent disappointment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pour one out for our poor baby Dizzy who feels abandoned. She's definitely feeling the hurt after listening in on that conversation. Evie didn't ever really forget about her. She just didn't know how to go about getting her so soon. In this story that's going to mean a lot as they will be quite close and I hope to make it obvious. I don't know how old Dizzy is and if anyone can tell me that would be great, but she seems about 10 or 11 which means Evie is 100% old enough to remember Dizzy being a tiny kiddo. Close bond. 
> 
> Uma doesn't understand Evie's reasoning simply because they have different mentalities. If Uma wants something to happen for one of her people she wants it right then. Going through rules and waiting and stuff just doesn't suit her style. It happens for them as soon as she knows how to make it happen or it's taking too long. Evie wanted to do things right way and go through all the motions. I wanted it to be up to personal preference who you think makes more sense. Uma can't always be distinctly right all the time. That would be silly.
> 
> Anyhow, tell me what you think, any theories or questions, share this with someone who might enjoy it!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	14. Seven Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uma Chapter! Uma finally gets to speak to Ben in a rather unconventional fashion. All in all, the end of Uma's day got a little weird quite quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning!!! This is a feelings chapter! If you are not ready to handle a few feels then you might want to come back soon.

Uma never knew if she was doing the right thing. Everything was hard to some extent. She'd never stumbled across an easy choice in her entire life that she could instantly think of. Maybe she was a jerk for talking to Evie like that, but someone had to tell her to her face. Judging by the way she responded, this was prior knowledge she was ignoring. She didn't want this shipment of VKs to be the last. She'd keep pushing and breathing down people's necks if that was the "correct" Auradonian way. 

She walked Audrey back to her dorm because it was getting dark by the time Dizzy completed her masterpiece. It turned out to be a masterpiece indeed. Audrey had abandoned the longer, pale and pastel colored hair by Dizzy's executive decision to make it stop just above the shoulders and give it a deep magenta color with sections of lighter blue highlights. The dark hair suited her and so did the short hair. Dizzy was just born with her gift to know what styles would not only look good, but make someone feel good. It was fascinating how artists could just create their art like that. Just right out of thin air and into reality with the right supplies. Audrey gushed about how beautiful it was to no end and paid Dizzy so handsomely that Dizzy nearly cried. The girls decided to stay with Evie, who was happy to have them and made for one less place Uma had to walk. Audrey insisted that it was excessive to walk together anywhere since they were on campus and campus was safe, but Uma simply retorted that nothing was safe. No matter how safe it felt. On her way back to her own dorm she encountered an interesting character. "I see you managed to get your legs back." A one king, childish as a prince, Ben appeared from seemingly nowhere, hands in his pockets. " Yeah. Fairy Godmother may cause instant migraines but she's useful at least." Uma was still slow to pick up things like small talk and basic conversation starters so she started to walk again. "Why are you out so late? Exploring campus?" If you wanted a conversation, you talked about what you wanted to talk about. Not questions around it to get there. She'd have to figure out why Auradonians felt the need to prompt a desired dialogue with tiny, useless statements and questions beforehand. "I was walking with Audrey back to her dorm. Now I'm going to mine." She stopped, shouldering her bag full of the books from the library and crossing her arms, turning around to look at Ben. "Audrey? Oh. I didn't know you guys were friends. That's good." He looked anxious, dress shoes brushing against the concrete as he shifted from one foot to the other, hair losing more and more form each time he ran a hand through it. "Do you want something?"

"Pardon?"

"Do you want something from me? You keep asking all these questions. What is it?"

"I...wanted to talk to you. About the Isle and the conditions of it. Maybe also how you lived there. I wanted to ask for your help." Uma raised an eyebrow at his request, processing it. He stood still now, hands clasped together, earnest expression on his face. He appeared to be quite genuine, but it was just such an odd request. "Your girlfriend and your amazing advisor don't know about their own home then?" 

"They do. Well, Mal won't tell me anything about the Isle. Evie and the guys have, but everyone's experience is different. So I wanted to know yours."

"Why not ask literally any other kid? There are 14 to choose from. What's your angle?"

"No angle. I just, you seem to be more involved in the lives of other Isle kids too. You're something of a humanitarian from what I know about you. I figured that you would be an amazing part of my team. To help the Isle. I have a feeling that you're part of the solution." He smiled for a split second and took a step closer, anxiety began to reform in his stance as he waited for a response. Uma wanted to laugh. That was her first thought. Here he was, asking her for help with his little project because...something. She began to grind her teeth together in thought, trying to think of what to say. Her instant response to requests for her presence that were administered at night outside were typically swiftly declined, but given the context…it seemed like a good deal. She wanted to be headstrong and stubborn and tell him to figure how to clean his mess himself, but Evie was right. These people were clueless and empty headed despite having so much at their fingertips. "Fine. I can do that. But I am not just here for intel and you will need to take my recommendations. I don't just want to sit and talk. I want to sit and talk and then you do something with what I tell you. Clear enough?"

"Crystal. Thank you so much Uma. I look forward to working with you. I know that with you on our team we can really keep this train rolling. I'll see you in my office on Monday around 9:55. It gets you out of class." Ben's face lit up with a sort of childlike glee upon her agreement to help, voice light and enthusiastic, tension gone from his body. He held out his hand for a handshake which Uma hadn't expected but complied with, shaking his hand firmly, shocked to feel such a weak grip. He was probably trying to overcompensate for her small hands, little did he know she could absolutely crush him despite being at least a head shorter than him. "No problem. Now, if you'll excuse me. I think it's time for me to get back to my dorm." That seemed so much easier than she thought it would be but it didn't mean she had changed anything yet. She was just in now. That was it. That didn't mean they'd listen or that she could be helpful or anything of the sort. She dragged her feet along the concrete, staring down at her last pair of good shoes, having lost the other pair to her metamorphosis. She squinted at peeked up at the night sky as a gentle breeze waltzed past. There were so many stars. She'd never seen so many stars. The moon was bright and full too. Everything seemed so vivid and sharp. It felt like she'd been living in a room her entire life. No way outside to ever care for what she was missing. She clenched her fist at her side, feeling a sudden wave of anger overwhelm her. She could feel it in her chest expanding, the heat of a sun consuming her. The heat was always present and just more prominent from time to time. She couldn't figure out why now, considering nothing was happening. She was outside, by herself, in the dark, looking up at the stars like an idiot. Her head snapped down, shoving the pressure back down and walking on.

"How long have you been sitting here?"

"Long enough to think of doing my homework and then actually do it."

"Where's Gil?"

"In our dorm. Sleeping like a baby. He apparently had a busy day. He's quick to become popular here."

"I knew he would. Why are you blocking my door?"

"Harriet said you weren't in so I decided to catch you when you came back."

"Why? How did the dorm nerds not escort you out? It's 11." Uma reached her dorm finally to be greeted with a one Harry Hook, leaning against her door, sat on the floor, legs extended and blocking half the hallway. There was no telling how long he'd been there unless she asked Harriet, then again, she wasn't sure she really wanted to know. He stood and raised his arms overhead, stretching thoroughly. "No reason. Also I just very kindly asked that they excuse my presence this one time. I'm very charming." He seemed more off kilter than usual which was a bit worrisome, especially considering he was obviously trying to act normal. That meant he knew he was being strange. Uma set her bag on the floor by her door and held out her hand, patiently waiting for a response. His response was delayed by a mere few seconds before grabbing her hand and pulling her into a tight hug. He nuzzled his face into her hair and she pressed her forehead to his chest with a sigh. Something wasn't right. Harry did like hugs, he hugged everyone on the crew which typically led to him being shoved in the opposite direction for a good laugh. He gave celebratory hugs and more brief, serious ones from time to time, but these kinds were the kinds she got when she was gone for a while on a long dangerous mission. These were the hugs she got when he returned from his father's house. These hugs were the kinds were Uma held him tighter because she was worried he'd just disappear if she didn't. They stood in silence for a few minutes before Uma decided to speak. "You...good?" His response wasn't silent, but there were no words. She turned her head ever so slightly to peek at his face, which was completely hidden by her hair. She parted her lips to speak again before she heard something. The tiniest sound of a sniffle and then gentle, breathy sobs followed suit. His inhales were shaky, she could feel them when she put a hand on his back and hear it when he gasped for air in between cries. Uma had heard Harry cry before so this wasn't something she'd never experienced. It just hit her every time. She didn't want to see her people cry. Not Gil, not Harry, not Celia or Dizzy, or any pirate on her crew, if she really admitted it to herself, even seeing someone like Evie cry might find a way to strike a nerve. Harry cried from time to time and sometimes she was there. Others she wasn't. Tears were a very obvious form of human expression. In joy and in sadness, they just symbolized being overwhelmed to her. She was never really the best at comforting with words, especially in situations like this. So she patted his back with one hand and squeezed his hand with the other. Uma was stuck wondering what had upset him. Upset him like this. He could cry from anger, frustration, sadness, it could be so many things and she hated not knowing. Every idea was going through her head and not a single one stuck. Between breaths, Harry decided to speak, it was quiet and difficult to decipher within all the shuddering breaths and sniffles, but the words did not fall on deaf ears. "I'm...not sure...I can do this." That was a phrase she'd heard from many people in many tones over the different courses of her life. Jokingly, with worry, anxiety, fear, frustration, but never like this. This sounded like defeat. Disappointment. Uma had no clue how to handle the phrase like that. Stopped dead in her tracks by seven of the simplest words. How jarring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter hurt me to write. We'll talk about Harry in a minute but let's go in order first.
> 
> Uma has a huge heart as we have already seen and she can't help...wanting to help. It was literally instinctual for her to want to walk Audrey home. It's dark, she would've been alone. Uma can't help it. Like Ben said, she is a bit of a humanitarian.
> 
> Ben has definitely been running in circles all day trying to find Uma to have this conversation with her. Their meeting in this chapter was completely accidental however, so lucky Ben. Ben knows that his team right now is strong but having someone like Uma would really help. Will Uma be able to handle being on the team?
> 
> And Harry. H a r r y. He's hurting. Uma thought right on the nose. He's overwhelmed. I wanted to bring a more...realistic aspect to these fantastical characters. Like they get angry, sure. Excited, yes! But having someone cry is just the most vulnerable and eye opening thing. Uma is not sure what to do. Maybe we'll get a better explanation for him next chapter?
> 
> Anyhow, this story has nearly 200 kudos and that's so amazing! I literally did this on a whim and I'm so happy that I can make other people happy with my content! Hope you lot will enjoy it til the end.
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	15. Faith in the Youth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry Chapter. Not super eventful, but it's happening.

The weekend slipped away faster than it had arrived. Monday appeared faster than expected without warning, although technically there was always warning. The next day always came whether one was prepared for it or not. Harry hadn't spoken to Uma since Friday night, although he saw her on Saturday, he hadn't wanted to say anything and she didn't make him talk. She would eventually. He was actually grateful for the alone classes that he had gotten for nose breaking. There were classes that kids took together for In School Suspension. Fairy Godmother just thought it best that he have classes by himself for a while until he could learn to play nice with the other kids. Her words. Not his. He sat in the room by himself, too distracted by all the nothing to do his work. There was no real need for a teacher in these places since all work just got sent over to him and a camera could watch him. It felt like continuous hours of him doing nothing, but after 15 minutes, the door cracked open and it was Fairy Godmother's smiling face in the doorway. "Your visitor from Friday is here again to see you for a little while." She allowed someone to enter before closing the door. "Nice to see you again Harry. How was your weekend? Eventful I hope." Each footstep was silent against the floor and the chair pulled out to sit in made no sound. Dr. Lionhart reminded Harry of someone he would be able to find on the Isle. She was stoic, the aura around her radiating a sterile professionalism. Still, from time to time he noticed her being cheeky enough to make jokes, so not entirely robotic. They had apparently called her back in for him since his incident. She was there to talk to any of the VKs that were struggling. He had asked her if she'd talked to anyone else and she wasn't able to answer for some dumb reason he couldn't remember. "My weekend was shit. Thanks for the ask." He tapped his pencil against his knee, staring at the floor tiles so clean they were reflective to an extent. "What did you do over the weekend?"

"A lot of nothing. I slept. I hung with Gil. I saw Uma."

"That's fine. Sometimes we need weekends to relax. Have you had any ideas similar to the ones you mentioned Friday?"

"I haven't found anymore disrespectful bastards in need of a face rearrangement so I'd say no. Do I have to see you everyday?" 

"No. Not everyday. Don't worry about that. It was suggested, but I figured you wouldn't take too kindly to it. So we talked about Friday and what bothered you then, we talked about how you lived on the Isle the first time we met, so what do you want to talk about?"

"I wanna talk about you. Who even are you? Why the hell did they send you? And do you find any joy in life outside of talking to poor people, already mental?" She cracked a smile at his last question, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm Dr. Lucinda Lionhart. Call me whatever gets you through it. I've heard it all at this point. I am a Pediatric and Adult Psychiatrist so they sent me here to talk to you about how you're handling Auradon. I find joy in helping people who I hope can go on to be successful. Especially a young man as smart as you. You could do a lot, you're just troubled which is perfectly valid."

"You don't even know me. How can you want my success?"

"It's called hoping for the best in people. Our youth is our future. I think young people are a reasonable thing to invest in." She glanced around the room for a moment before returning her focus to him. He hadn't stopped staring at the floor, now having made something of a sport out of counting the tiles he could see. "You said you saw Uma. Tell me how that went. I remember you expressing worry about her finding out about your misconduct. Did you talk to her about it when you saw her?"

"No. We spent time Friday, but I didn't. Not Saturday either."

"So you would say her opinion of you matters?"

"Yeah but I also disobeyed a direct Captain's order."

"True. Is that what bothers you about it?"

"No." He didn't elaborate and she nodded slowly, likely realizing that he didn't want to talk. He didn't want to let Uma down. He didn't want to prove these Auradon idiots right and be...truly bad. Be someone truly worthy of rotting on that floating rock alongside everyone else who had done wrong. Alongside all the corpses that never made it out. Alongside all the corpses he had put there. "Is it normal?" Lionhart had been typing something in her laptop when he spoke, notes no doubt. Her attention went straight back to him in a split second. "What?"

"To get angry." She seemed to be confused by his sudden change in tempo and by the sudden question. She also appeared interested as she slowly closed her laptop and set it on the desk behind her. "Of course Harry. We all get upset. It's normal. People that don't are usually incapable magical beings or...in need of help themselves."

"I know in general, but...angry like Hook." Seeing his father fly into a rage was something of an event. His anger was unreal and likely due to the building up knowledge that he would never return to Neverland to slay the 'wicked' Peter Pan. He would throw the nearest objects at anything he felt was worthy of redecorating (which sometimes ended up being his children), yell nonsensical nothings even if everyone was in the next room and away from him, and sometimes it went on like that for ages. Sometimes he felt like that or he was getting there. "Is this because you want to hurt people when you're upset? Like we talked about on Friday?" He nodded, looking off to the side at his blank paper where his work should've been. "That's something we can work on Harry. Don't worry. That feeling happens to more people than you realize."

"But not just people. People I don't want to hurt too."

"I see. Do you want to tell me more?"

Lionhart left instantly after wrapping up their session and it felt much shorter than the hour it had been. He'd never admit it, seeing as it went against everything he had ever been taught, but he actually liked the In School Suspension. There were no teachers talking in his ear, no students staring him down, just him and a camera and his work. If he actually admitted that a punishment had been productive for him it would be a blow to his pride. Especially an Auradonian punishment. He supposed that for the people that created an entire land mass based on punishment they knew a lot about it.

At the end of the day, he left with all the other kids in trouble and was allowed to go about the rest of his day. Not nearly as painful as he assumed it would be, but then again it was only the first day. He'd have to give it a week. Or two. "Harry. Where have you been all day? I've been looking for you." He froze and before he could tense up, Uma grabbed his hand and began to walk. Hand holding was a little different in meaning on the Isle. If you held someone's hand and they weren't a child then you were walking them. They were following you. It maintained a sense of control in people's eyes. Harry simply had to accept this fact, considering that in the hierarchy she was above him. Captain and Crew. Protector and Protected. "I was in class."

"Yeah I bet you were. So are we going to talk about what happened Friday?" Friday. Harry hadn't even planned on falling apart the way he did that day. He wanted to see Uma and when they hugged the tears just...happened. They had been uncontrollable. They wouldn't stop and he couldn't pinpoint when they started. She didn't say a word when he cried which he always appreciated. It was one of the most embarrassing things someone could do. Show their weakness, vulnerability, pain. Uma never made him feel worse than he already did about it. He hated crying, for a wide array of reasons and he wished it hadn't happened that day. Granted, he felt so much...better than he did before after he finally stopped crying but he just hated it. It was complex, yet simple all at once. "What about it? I was just having a day. You know those good and well." Lying to Uma was what the crew of the Lost Revenge had deemed, The Impossible Task. She just seemed to know and if she didn't know right away that meant nothing. She would know later. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and she stared into the parking lot, straight faced for a few, long seconds, that registered as hours to Harry. Then she turned back, nearly shoving through a huddle of people in the parking lot before they parted to avoid her path to sit on a bench by the sidewalk, she dragged him along with her and all the way to the seat. "Don't start that. I don't want it. Talk to me Hook." He set his hook down on the bench and sighed, unsure if she'd be upset with him or not. "I got in trouble on Friday and I've been placed in some suspension for a little while. But that's it." Uma leaned back, throwing her arms over the bench and puffing out her chest tiredly. "Trouble's never bothered you like that before. Is something wrong? With here? Did something else happen? You know I can't help if you're not straight with me." He looked over at her, her head was facing skyward and her positioning was open. So she wasn't mad. "I don't...I don't know Uma. I don't know what's happening. I just don't feel like myself. They've brought back in that doctor lady and all to talk to me about it."

"Lionhart? …Okay. I just don't want you to be...just tell me next time you have an issue. Seriously. Do you want to come swimming with me tomorrow? Audrey's taking me and while it's technically part of the homework, you might like it."

"Perhaps. What's with you and this Audrey kid? Useful?"

"Yes. She's teaching me how to use my powers and doing a good job at it. And she somehow reminds me of a VK on the Isle. For a princess with the world, she still doesn't seem to have it all. It's weird." Harry stared at her as she talked, watching her chest rise and fall, her subtle hand gestures, and her foot tapping against the ground. "Don't tell me you feel for a pretty pink princess up in her overpriced tower."

"Hey. Mal screwed her over. We have that in common and she's got her own issues. They don't have it like us. Not even close, but they have it. Who knows? She might've made a good pirate." Harry laughed at the premise of a princess in a pirate hat. "Not possible. ...Uma." She sat up and directed her gaze to him. She sat at perfect attention with perfect patience, waiting for him to talk. "Thank you. For everything. I don't tell you nearly enough. I don't know...where I'd be right now."

"Yeah well...thank the tides that you can't sail for shit. I was never going to be your first mate."

"Perhaps one day we could have a rematch?"

"And you'd still lose. I'm saving your pride here Hook."

"Don't you always?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title? Lionhart has faith in Harry, Uma in Audrey, there's just some mutual rooting for people all around which is sweet. 
> 
> Lionhart is back and will probably be reoccurring. Harry was particularly mellow today, it's apparent that his alone time definitely pays off. I'm planning on having Harry and Audrey meet some time soon and actually talk. I wonder how that will go over...
> 
> Also if you didn't quite get the refrences of Uma saying Harry's bad at sailing, in the books they raced for the Lost Revenge and the title of Captain.
> 
> This was a pretty chill chapter to write and I had a lot of fun! You lot have been beyond wonderful!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	16. Complete Composition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gil and Audrey bump into each other by pure coincidence and we learn a bit more about Gil's brothers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning!!! This contains Chad Charming being a big jerk. So just keep that in mind.
> 
> Also Gil is still a sweet baby.

Gil smiled up at the sun and the sound of the birds and the soft breeze that ruffled his hair. It seemed like every day had to be pretty in Audradon. The Isle had no sun due to the perpetual cloud hanging overhead and it rained a solid 42 weeks out of the year. There had been complaints from the other VKs of everything being too cheery and too bright and too fake for their liking, but Gil knew they were just being tough. What was there to not like? There was sunshine every day that he'd been there, people were nice to each other without needing a reason, and most of all, bad things didn't seem to happen here. That part was his favorite part. Gil sat underneath the shade of a tree, across from his next class building. He had time to just stop, be calm. Take a break. Maybe soon Uma would be able to notice that too. She was always in drive no matter what. For a while in his life he became convinced that Uma never actually slept. 

Gil brushed his fingertips across the smooth blades of lush grass, smirking at the soft sensation. The grass was so green. It seemed like a trivial thing to fixate on but the patches of grass he'd seen on the Isle were yellow and brittle, coming and going with the passing crowds. He began to reminisce about the time he'd found a small yellow flower growing from a split in the walkway. It had been wilting already and the petals felt softer than anything he'd ever felt, but he figured it would die soon and left it. It survived day after day, weak and unimpressive, which eventually prompted Gil to borrow a fork from Ursula's and scrape the flower from the ground by its roots and rehouse it in a horrendously cracked glass. Gil took care of the little flower fondly for a few weeks, watching it gradually brighten in color and seeing its feel little pale yellow petals become fuller before returning home to find its glass smashed on the floor, carelessly tossed by his brothers. Simply because he 'liked it too much'. 

Gil still found something in him smiling at the memory in spite, perhaps, of its sad ending. He just liked looking after it. It made him feel accomplished. Accomplished in something. His brothers were always like that though. They broke and took Gil's things all the time. They tried to get him to fight with them for fun and practice and fight other people for a laugh. He had never been one for it. Even practice with them went too far typically. He could never do things like them and for a long time he felt bad for it. He wasn't strong like them and decisive. He hesitated and recounted. Like a weakling. Then, of course, Uma told him that although he was raised by idiots that didn't make him an idiot. She told him that the first time he asked how come he could never kill someone. She said to him that he never would have to. He remembered how foreign that concept sounded to him in that moment. It was something he had been prepared to do all his life, but Uma kept her word and the concept flourished into reality.

Still, with that moment he always wondered what separates some people from others. Some people could kill and others couldn't. Gil raised a hand to kill someone and suddenly it bore the weight of lead. His brothers did the same and suddenly their hands were lighter. Were they made from different material? Gil's brows had furrowed in thought until he looked up at the building across from him and saw a few faces he recognized trickling in. That meant it was time for class finally. Class had been taxing yet enjoyable for him so far. He grabbed his things and began to walk into the building, shielding his eyes from the sun. The hallways were beyond quiet and it was honestly his most quiet class building all day. Everyone here just seemed more serious.

Gil loved being able to take his time to do things. Just casually walk to class and not be in a rush. Walk to his dorm without worries. He began to ponder if he'd forgotten anything when his already unstable train of thought switched courses upon hearing strained whispering in a rather empty hallway. He recalled that the hall was always empty because the one classroom on it was under renovations. Gil felt something tug at his feet and slow him to a stop, right at the corner of the hall. "Chad. I'm sorry that I did that to you. It was really selfish of me. I didn't mean to make you look bad. I felt like you deserved an apology after I realised that I didn't date you for your sake. It was for mine. That was...awful of me."

"Yeah I know Audrey. I mean, I really hate looking bad. Do you know how embarrassing it is for everyone to know that you broke up with me just because I was your...rebound guy? Audrey do you think of anyone but yourself? Imagine all the people this will hurt. Like me. And also me. I'll look so awful. Chad Charming: The Rebound Guy. You can't leave me Audrey." Gil had slowly started to peek around the corner into the hallway, waiting to see what would happen. Chad hovered over Audrey, theatrically flailing his hands about in anguish while Audrey stood, kicking at nothing but the reflective tiles and fiddling with the bottom of her skirt. She looked like a small child being scolded. The scene felt familiar to one that might play out at home which was what caused his pause, considering this was Auradon and bad things didn't happen here. He could see Audrey's hands shaking, trying to look for stability somewhere around her. "I have to. I don't want to date you anymore. But you're Chad Charming. I'm sure any girl would be happy to have you." She turned and proceeded to exit into the main hall before being stopped by Chad's hand on her wrist. "Let go Charming." Her instant response was to attempt to pry his hand away, but she seemed far too weak to achieve the desired results. "Any girl would be happy to have me. Any girl except you. Audrey what have I done wrong? Are you upset with me? Tell me so I can make it up to you and we can stay together." He tugged at her wrist, dragging her closer with each sentence. "You're actually hurting my wrist! Let go!" Bad things did happen in Auradon. Noted. Gil didn't hesitate to rush over and enter the scene fearlessly. "You should stop."

"Who are you supposed to be? One of those Isle losers right? Let me give you a cultural tip. You'll go far here if you mind your own business." Chad rolled his eyes, obviously Gil's appearance meant practically nothing to him. Gil didn't want to hit him because according to what Harry told him, that would land him in a lot of trouble. So he had to think outside of what he was raised to do. Punching couldn't work for every situation apparently. "I'll call a teacher from right here right now if you don't leave her alone. Chad looked past the both of them into the well lit main hall, obviously considering something. His grip losened on Audrey and she stumbled forward. Chad sneered in disgust at Gil. "You may have won or whatever. But you're still just fucking Isle trash. The whole lot of you are." When he had gone in his red faced fit of anger, Gil looked down at Audrey. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm...fine. Thank you. I did not see that coming." Gil offered his hand to her and she gripped onto it so tightly he wanted to ask if she was alright for a second time. She appeared to be beyond shaken up. Seeing this made him sort of glad he hadn't punched Chad. Maybe he would be dead. Auradon people seemed to be made differently that Isle people. Perhaps it made it easier for the Gods to tell them apart. "That's the guy that pushed Uma into the fountain. Charming isn't a good name for him." His statement got a weak laugh from Audrey, blindingly white teeth peeking out from behind trembling lips. "You got that right. I never thought I'd up and be saved by a VK. None of you guys are really as bad as they say. Are you?" For some reason as they walked, they got the strangest of looks from other kids in the halls, followed by giggles and whispered remarks. He couldn't decipher social cues well before all of this and Auradon had an entirely different set of rules so he decided to ignore most of them. "Gil." Audrey and Gil turned and spoke in unison. "Uma!" Uma approached, having taken her twists down to have beautiful ringlet curls cascading over her shoulder, although Gil still missed the blue. "Hey since when do you two know each other? What is that?" She still sounded casual to anyone else, but Gil knew she was extremely serious when she lifted a hand and subtly pointed at Audrey, more specifically her right wrist, which had bruised. "Hmm?" Of course, Audrey hadn't seen it, but it was a rather ghastly set of bruises on her wrist blooming from specklings of black into reddish dark purples to form a circle, clinging to the softer parts of her arm. "Audrey got into a fight. Don't worry though. She won!" Gil helpfully added on, the statement made Uma cross her arms. She seemed stressed as of late. More than she usually was. See, an important thing to learn about Uma was that she always existed upon some plane or realm of stressed at all times. She was worrying about it all and he could tell. Everyone here, the crew back home being without her, everyone and everything aside from herself most likely. "Don't worry. I'll still totally be ready to dive tomorrow. You can't get out of training." Uma scoffed at her, rolling her eyes. "Ah. And I was so close to making my great escape." They decided to walk Audrey to class just for the sake of it and Uma said that she'd walk Gil to class if he wanted her to. He agreed because although he didn't need an escort anywhere he only had Remedial Goodness and Lunch with Uma. He realized how weird it felt to only have the ends of the days to hang out with her. The crew was always together. Sometimes he couldn't help but feel so much more lonely than he had been before, finding his mind wandering to thinking of what Jonas was up to or how many things Gaston had lost already since the start of the day. Silly things. Miniscule things. Isle things.

"Uma." 

"Hmm?" She kept walking and to most it would sound like a weak form of acknowledgement, but Gil knew he had her attention. "So do you think they're bringing all the kids from the Isle?"

"Maybe. Why do you ask now?"

"I don't know. Well, I don't think I want my brothers to come to Auradon." With that, she stopped in her tracks and turned to him, with a strange expression he couldn't quite name upon her face. "Why not?"

"They're mean but like for no reason. You're mean sometimes too. It's not the same though and I thought only good people were supposed to be in Auradon, but now I'm not so sure." Uma crossed her arms, looking down for a few seconds. "Well I wouldn't let it happen. I know I didn't tell you yet but the King has asked me to help with his little We're Going to Save All the VKs Project. He wants me there. I promise I won't let anyone like that come over. Okay?"

"Right. Good job Uma! I can't believe the King wants your help! I mean I can because you're awesome, but I also didn't know if he knew you were awesome."

"Okay Gil. Let's keep this sush. Other people don't know about it yet."

"Oh. Right. Sorry. Well I'm going to go learn now. We're starting a brand new book for class! Have a good time in your class." Gil smiled and turned to open his classroom door before pausing and turning back to Uma who had already begun to walk away. "Uma. Thank you."

"What for?"

"I don't know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah Isle mentality has Gil so alienated from time to time that he's literally wondering if humans are made differently and if that's why they can withstand different things. 
> 
> Also for anyone that's curious, the flower Gil found was a Primrose! They're representative of new beginnings and they grow in a lot of fun conditions.
> 
> Chad is...trash. Yeah that's all I've got there.
> 
> Next chapter is a Uma chapter AND we'll get to see what Uma talked about in her meeting with Ben. It's the mandatory beach episode!
> 
> My most humble apologies for being AWOL for so long. I was going through it but I hath risen again and I'll try to keep with the chapters!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	17. Deep Dive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uma finally gets to go diving with Audrey to test her power and upon the...actual seas. Or maybe it would just do her well to find solid ground to stand on. Although, not everyone seems happy about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow that was a real chapter summary. I had fun with this one! That's it. Have fun!

Uma had apparently been at the level of exhaustion that made her fall asleep, unaware that she'd been asleep until she woke up. She hadn't slept properly in days since they arrived in Auradon so she supposed that her body had enough. Yesterday was a strange day, but eventful in ways she liked. The meeting with Ben was intriguing. At least everyone got to see what she was about. Auradonians were so strange with their political dealings. That's what all this was at the end of the day. Political. Everyone was shocked to see her there. The doctors she met on the first day, Evie, more people she didn't recognize, the past King and Queen. She had taken her seat and slouched in it, not greeting anyone. Can't take the Isle out of the kid after all. She got to see what sort of plans they'd already drawn up and what direction they were moving in and Uma couldn't comprehend how Evie was able to stand these Auradonians all by herself before without another VK with her. They were just so suffocating. She hadn't given any input since it was her first meeting. She had sat and watched and nodded, feeling the eyes on her and knowing that they were wondering why she got to be present. Uma's presence wasn't as easy to swallow as Evie's. If you squinted at Evie she could be from Auradon. It was what her mother had trained and abused her all her life for. Uma was a pirate and she had no energy to pretend to be something she wasn't. 

Uma felt a sort of churning in her stomach all day during class at the approaching training session. It wasn't that she couldn't prove herself or that she was afraid of a little water. It was just a gut feeling. Maybe it was that she would be swimming with a new body altogether and she was worried she wouldn't be able to maintain control while actually in the water. She was always afraid of that. Losing control. Uma sat in class, all but ignoring the lesson and staring at her hands. She was actually nervous about it. Once the bell rang she was met outside her classroom by Mal. She'd been expecting Audrey, especially considering she said she would be there. It was Mal. "Uma. I need to know what you're up to." Uma placed a hand on her chest and gasped theatrically, taking a step back. "Bold of you to assume I'm up to anything aside from absorbing my education. Maybe if you did the same you could utilise a little something called context clues. You were never good at those." Mal wrung her hands together and took a step closer to her which made Uma grab at her sword, which wasn't there. "I know you're up to something. I mean why else would you be here? You're literally always antagonizing me." Uma looked Mal up and down, she looked...not exactly great. Nervous and her clothes could be straighter, her hair was pulled into a poorly assembled bun and her eyes were nothing but a long bubbling brew of anxiety. It almost made her worried. Almost. Then she realised that she would never expend energy worrying about Mal. Not anymore. "Mal. I'll say this nice and slow for you. It is not always about you. That may be a tough concept to tackle, but let it simmer. I gotta go." She waved at Audrey from across the hall, jogging over to her. Something about that whole conversation felt…off. Surreal even. Perhaps it was still apart of a dream. 

"Hey! I got you one of my swimsuits. You really only need the top but I remember you said you lost a pair of jeans last transformation so I was hoping to avoid that. They're in my car. Traffic to the beach is actually slim to none. Everyone's usually heading up to the other kingdoms around this time. It's early afternoon and a weekday. So we shouldn't have much issue with traffic." Uma nodded, half listening to the rundown. She liked Audrey well enough as she'd come to decide. Despite her constant and borderline incessant talking and her hair pulling and the general fact that she was one of those princesses Uma grew up hating so much, Audrey wasn't that...bad. She said she'd been different before so maybe that was it. She likely would've enjoyed her presence less before. "My dive gear is in the car already and I guess you can change into swimsuit before we leave? Nervous?" Uma looked over at her, cracking a smile that was so mischievous and mysterious, an onlooker might've suspected that the two girls were on a heist. "I'm never nervous. It's a good skill to learn. So...I did a little bit of research. Or rather I had Gil do research because he wouldn't stop asking me questions and...don't you need like a dive partner? Is someone else coming with us that I don't know?"

"Nope. Last time I checked, a semi-aquatic person made for a great dive buddy."

"Oh. That...actually makes a lot of sense. Well then let's get to it I guess."

The drive was filled with the 3 of them marvelling at the sights that were just outside of the window while Audrey drove. Uma could hardly believe that all of this had only been this far away from her this entire time. She was here now and the others would be but she just hated having missed out on all of this. The more she saw of the world outside of the barrier, the more she thought a few of these Auradon pricks would do well on the other side of it. It was designed to keep evil in. She could formulate a list of people who deserved it and it got longer everyday. As they got closer to the water, Audrey cracked her window, saying it was important always to smell the ocean before seeing it. Uma leaned her head against the window, staring up at the clouds, noting how they all seemed to run away from the water, leaving nothing but clear skies.

"Guys please watch yourself the water here is kind of dangerous!" Audrey sat on a towel in the sand readying her dive gear while Uma stood, waiting with nothing else to do and Harry and Gil played pretend sword fighting with each other because they couldn't help themselves. Harry raised an eyebrow at Audrey's comment and laughed, following it up with an extremely low to the ground and extravagant bow. "Why of course Your Majesty. Anything you say Your Excellency." Audrey sighed, grumbling in annoyance before she started talking, back turned to Uma. "I love it here because of how secluded it is. So I highly doubt anyone will show up unless it's more divers and that's usually because of the water. Which has a massive drop off after just a little bit. Which makes it perfect for diving. Try to not fall in Harry." Harry raised his hook, ready to retort back at her but Uma waved her hand, signalling that is wasn't that pressing. Besides, she was intrigued. Audrey turned around, pressing her hands in the sand to twist around, forming a little sand divot for her to sit in. She stared at them all, making a comedically serious face as if she were about to tell a bad scary story. 

"Gather around kids for science class." The only one who seemed excited about that sentence was Gil, of course, who stopped his game to sit right in front of Audrey in the sand, next to Uma who was still standing. "Humanoid/Potentially semi-aquatic creatures, as it stands, have many structures similar to the average human because evolution blah blah. We're not here for that. We're here to talk about lungs. All these types of creatures, including but naturally not limited to, mermaids, cecaelias, you get the picture, have lungs that are similar in a lot of ways to a human's but...keep following me here this is the important bit. They're actually 2 different lungs. Without using science terms they are your Air and Water lungs which are your left and right lungs respectively. It works exactly how it sounds. You've totally been breathing with mostly one lung your whole life. The point in our little science lesson was to reassure Uma that she can absolutely breathe underwater and it should come pretty easily, considering the opposite is taught all the time."

"So I'm supposed to breathe underwater? You're aware that goes against everything I've ever been taught? Everything that any person has ever been taught."

"I know. Don't worry it's fine. Take this." She turned behind her and grabbed something small and black, when Uma took it, she just stared at it for a bit, unsure of what to do with it. It was sleek and tiny and most likely something technological but working technology was still extremely new for her just like it was for several Isle kids so she kind of just stared at it until Audrey cleared her throat. "It's a waterproof earpiece. Secure it on and I'll be able to talk to you while we're under. Of course, I had to make some adjustments since you're not wearing a mask like me, but it should work all the same. I'm going to gear up. You can check out the waves if you want." 

Uma stuck the earpiece in with a bit of meddling and turned to the water. Everything was so clean. The sand was soft and pale white with not a speck of garbage in sight. The air was warm with the occasional breeze, cutting through what could have become an uncomfortable amount of still air. And the water. The water was so beautiful. The waves sounded soft and inviting, swaying back and forth, dragging tiny bits of sand back into the water with each trip to the shore. She clenched a fist and crept up closer to the water's edge, as if the water was something she could sneak up on. She felt silly in hindsight. It was bright blue, shifting into a darker gradient at the portion Uma assumed was the drop Audrey had mentioned. The ocean surrounding the Isle had always been somewhat of a cruel mistress. Dark and uninviting, nearly the color of ink with all sorts of horrors and monstrosities just above and below the surface. That water was never still, always restless, jostling ships, eating away at the edges of the miserable rock called an island with each crash.  
Seeing such an open and tranquil body of water, Uma began to understand the water around the Isle. It was trapped too. Trapped with nothing to do but trap the secrets people tossed away and attempt to break free or take down as many people as possible in the meantime. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears at this point, a whooshing, akin to the constant rhythm of the waves. "Audrey's an...odd lass isn't she?"

"What? Yeah. Yeah she is. She's growing on me though. ...Like a barnacle." 

"Right. Well are you ready? Gil and I are just going to watch from the shore I figure. Call if you need us."

"Always." Audrey walked right into the shallow water to finish putting on her gear, no hesitation or anxiety. "Hey Audrey. How often do you dive?"

"As often as I can. It's one of the most calming things literally ever. My mom is more of a forest girl, but that's all too loud for me. The birds and the deer and the bugs. Yeah...so not my style. My dad showed me diving. I don't know how you want to tackle the getting in the water, but when you decide I'll be down." Uma waved as Audrey covered her entire face with a mask that looked more dramatic than functional, pointed down, and disappeared below the surface. Uma looked over her shoulder at the boys who just looked back at her. Everyone was waiting on her she supposed. She shed the jacket Audrey had her borrow, letting the sun wash over her skin. She started slow, toes sinking into the sand, providing her with a warm fuzzy feeling. A few more steps in the direction of the water was all it took for the next wave to push the water a little past her ankles and that was enough for her to fall into the water on her elbows and sort of...laugh as the next wave splashed her chest and neck. With more water around it felt much different than the fountain. She could move her tentacles with much more ease than before and they felt lighter too. The fountain had been embarrassing and unexpected. Here, there was no one to see her that she didn't want there. She pushed herself to the edge of the lighter colored water, putting another hand forward and having it plunge into an entirely different level. "How did she find this place?"

"I can hear you. Glad to know the earpiece is working. I can see your hand. You have reached the end of the ledge. It's like a baby underwater cliff if you were curious. And 'she' didn't find this place. My dad did. You know I've only got so much oxygen if you want to get this show on the road." With that, Uma pushed herself and fell straight into the water. It felt like she was sinking and she wasn't entirely used to the feeling since it was typically easier for her to float. Audrey swam over and grabbed onto her hand before she could fall any further. "Whoa. I don't think we're ready for the deep end yet. Are you holding your breath? You have breathe Uma." Uma squinted in annoyance as she regained her bearings, able to hold her positioning in the water, but still finding herself holding onto Audrey's hand tightly. She never needed to hold anyone's hand before. This was just nothing like she anticipated. She felt at home, but simultaneously so alienated.

Swimming came easily when she was motivated by her lack of air the longer she stayed under. Above the water was louder than below. It somehow felt a bit colder too. Gil waved at Uma from the shore where he and Harry both sat, watching something on a tablet. She looked up and the skies seemed darker than before. "Hey Audrey. Was it supposed to rain today?"

"No. Why? Does it look like it?"

"A little bit. The sky may or may not fall out."

"Well that's a tough one. I'll start decompression. Come down here and wait with me." As soon as Uma went back under, there was the sound of thunder, louder than any she'd ever heard. When she looked back up at the surface? Rain. Heavy rain. Her first instinct was of course to swim back up, but Audrey grabbed her wrist and pulled, shaking her head. "That's an electrical storm. The boys can get cover just fine. You resurfacing makes you more likely to be struck. From what you told me, you'll just be a sitting duck trying to get back to shore. If anyone's at risk here it's totally me. My oxygen is limited. Yours isn't." Times like this, Uma would've loved to return a snarky comment and she was sure Audrey knew that, but she couldn't. Breathing underwater? That went against just about everything a human could ever know. Then again...she wasn't human. She'd been raised that way though. For 17 years she'd been raised as a human. That made it a bit difficult to unlearn overnight. She peered up at the surface again as it got further from her, only to be greeted with a flash of the sky turning blindingly white and another crack of ground rattling thunder.

"That storm...really came out of nowhere didn't it?"

"Yeah." Uma was shocked that Audrey, of all people was able to catch her so off guard, lost in the storm, that she got her to talk. It almost made her want to go right back to holding her breath out of habit and shock. Uma could never keep her mouth shut for long it seemed. Uma didn't do quiet. It had never been her way. 

"Got you! I knew you could! Now on a more serious note, since I know you won't drown, who did we upset to make the sky go from cloudless to literally the worst storm I've ever seen?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh fear the storm. But actually I loved writing this chapter. Going to the beach is something I love to do so just writing the water imagery and personification was a fun time.
> 
> Audrey was just such a smart baby in this chapter and for those of you that doubted it has now been confirmed that Uma does genuinely like Audrey in some sort of begruding way. She did compare the girl to a barnacle after all.
> 
> Mal? Who knows at this point?
> 
> The lungs thing? My interpretation of not giving gils but also explaining how the heck they breate on water and land. This is it. This is how. For a little bit more detail, there's a muscle in the airway that can shift from side to side, "opening and closing" each lung. This prevents water getting in the air lung and vise versa.
> 
> Anywho, how about that random, dangerous, possibly deadly electrical storm hey? Perhaps that's the someone not too keen on having Uma in the water.
> 
> Now, back to it! Adore you all lots and I'll see you in the next one!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and Kudos!


	18. Righteousness and Resentment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben Chapter! Ben is trying to do his work and yet everything just seems a bit off. He seems off. Mal seems off. Rhe weather seems off. Whatever is a poor king to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! This chapter is unfortunately quite short, but I've got another one in the works and about a quarter of the way through! Have this little morsel of plot while I work on the big boy for now! Enjoy!

Ben figured that yesterday's meeting could've gone better with everyone seeing Uma for the first time. Still, it could've gone a lot worse. No one was jarringly rude to her and Uma didn't do anything unsavoury so it wasn't exactly the end of the world. They just sat in general confusion, wondering what screws were loose in Ben's head to make him bring another VK into official political business. 

He tapped his foot rapidly as he sat at his desk, trying to read over reports and write at the same time, but everything just got more and more overwhelming. It was times like this when he wished that his father had just remained king until he died. Everyone got tired, but they all had jobs to do. Who was he to abandon his just because he was tired of it? Ben tried his best to ignore thoughts like that because if he thought on it too long he realised that he felt...resentful to his parents to some extent. They made him king when, honestly, he would rather still be in the classroom with his friends being a kid. They didn't directly tell him no, yet he knew they never had much faith in his plans about the Isle. "Always so hard at work you are. This is why you're always so stressed."

"Hey. Where's Evie?" Mal leaned in his office doorway, arms crossed, rolling her eyes. "Hello my Boyfriend the King. I can't get a proper hello before you ask where Evie is? Here's a thought. Why don't you just quit and give Evie the crown? I'm positive her mother would simply have a heart attack and die if she saw that on the TV." Ben stretched a weary smile across his face and stood from his desk. "That doesn't sound half bad. Not killing Evie's mother, but yeah Queen Evelyn of Auradon. We should get Evie here right away." He laughed as he approached Mal, arms outstretched. She pushed off from the door and sluggishly dragged her feet through the carpet before stopping inches from Ben and squishing her face into his chest. "I'm tired." Ben looked down into a pile of pale white blonde hair and couldn't help but smile. He liked being with Mal. She was so new and exciting and different. She was nothing like Audrey whom he had known his entire life and who most anticipated he'd marry. He wondered about Audrey a lot. Especially recently. She seemed so singular when he saw her on campus nowadays. By herself, hauling books, poking her phone, eating her lunch. The Audrey he remembered used to be surrounded by people at all hours of the day. Ben wondered why she would go and distance herself from everyone like that. Maybe when he decided to stop dating her she just ditched everything else too. "Have you done your homework?"

"If I say I'm tired you should say 'Goodness Mal. Is there anything I can do?' not ask me about stupid homework which I would gladly abandon to a nest of trolls if there were one nearby." Ben patted Mal on the head and back away, heading back to his desk. Mal was...a tiny bit dramatic from time to time. He still adored her and her theatrics naturally though and found them endearing and quite cute. Still, at times it was a bit worrisome. "I'm sorry Mal h-" He stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of a distant and yet considerably loud thunder crack. 

He turned and looked to the massive window behind his desk, tugging on the golden chain to draw back the heavy curtains. The window always provided and excellent view of the forests outside of the school and the roads that led down to the beach. He could easily see for miles from his office window. This led him to keeping the curtains closed more often than not simply because he was prone to staring out the window for hours upon hours and imagining all the different places he could be presently. "Wow. Mall check out that major storm down by the beach! It looks pretty cool from here. Must be a big one if we can see it from here huh?"

"Yeah. I thought it never rained down there. That's what you told me when we visited a couple months ago." Mal approached the window, leaning forward and if it would be enough of a decrease in distance for her to picture more of the storm than what she already saw. "It usually doesn't. That's why it's so shocking! I hope everyone down there is okay. This is the best transitioning time of year to hit the beach. There's less people on vacation all crowding down there, but the weather is still nice. Or...usually it's still nice." Mal smirked and rolled her eyes at him. "You seem like you have work to do because of course you do. I'll leave you to stare at your papers and...storm." She recoiled after her mention of the storm as the sky flashed white off in the distance. "Yeah. I'd better get going. I'll see you Ben!"

"See you later Mal. Love you."

"You too. Bye." When his office door shut, Ben couldn't help but sigh. He could never get her to actually say it back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know. Don't say it. I've been gone for ages. Studies are actually kicking my butt and I've had no time to write. But I got this one out and another one well on its way! Can you ever forgive me?
> 
> Ben doesn't seem to like being king that much. Hm. I mean judging by the title and a tidbit in the chapter he seems pretty upset at his parents about it. Mal? We'll get to her. The Storm? Almost certainly unnatural.
> 
> Next chapter is an Audrey Chapter! I love those! I think so far, 18 and a half chapters in I can strongly say Gil and Audrey Chapters are my favorites to write. Shocking I know. 
> 
> Anyhow, sorry this chapter's so short. I promise you a meaty one for next chapter. Oh here's a quick thought I had if any of you watch Studio Ghibli films. In Ponyo, Ponyo's parents are 1000000% Harry and Uma. Think about it.
> 
> Alrighty. Let me get back to typing. Talk to me in the comments. How's it going? As always, please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	19. Three's a Crowd, Four's Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do they get out of this storm? Find out this episode of Her Reign is for!

Audrey wasn't sure that this was the way she wanted to die. She had contemplated dying a few times over, but drowning never made it onto her list of ways to go out. Here she was, stuck in the ocean with a VK, a half full oxygen tank, and a spontaneous raging storm overhead. Thankfully for the both of them, the water still seemed to be relatively still with most of the fun things like too close for comfort lighting strikes and sharp rain droplets remaining above the surface. It seemed as if the storm wanted to keep them in the water, which like, good for the storm Audrey supposed, but terrible for Audrey. "Hey Uma. I'm not sure if now's the time to be melodramatic, but if this storm doesn't let up, I will absolutely be running out of oxygen. You know, that handy invisible substance that humans need to breathe? Actually it's quite unhealthy to breathe pure oxygen, but...that's besides the point. Point is, we need to put our heads together and figure a way out of this. Preferably a way out of this that ends with neither of us getting struck by lightning."

Uma raised a brow at her and tilted her head, which Audrey took as some kind of agreement. Audrey knew the waters, so where would she go in a situation like this? The thoughts frazzled her nerves and made her wonder why she hadn't come up with a plan for this type of thing just in case it ever happened. "Because storms don't just appear. Stupid." She muttered to herself, wishing her hair was out to pluck at. Then, something sparked. They don't just appear. Someone made this. This had to have been manufactured in some fashion. "Do you...know anyone else that may have the power to create a storm like this?"

"Audrey. I left the Isle like a week ago. The only people I know are still there or the VKs here."

"And?"

"And no. None of them know how to do...this?" As if on cue with Uma's finished statement, thunder grumbled impatiently, making the water tremble. Audrey looked down at the dark waters beneath her feet, squinting to see what she could see. Everything seemed quite normal under them. All the fun, brightly colored fish still darted about, the plants still swayed back and forth serenely as if nothing had changed. As Audrey scanned the lower levels of the area she saw a glint of something golden. It was a twinkling gold light breaking through a sizeable patch of rich green seagrass. She squinted at it and blinked a few times to see if it would disappear, being a fish or a crab or something her imagination had invented. The light didn't vanish, however. In fact, if anything, the light seemed to be getting brighter the longer she looked at it. Even with the seagrass swaying with each passing wave, the light was never obscured. She turned and tapped Uma's shoulder with a gloved hand. "Do you see that or is it just me?" Uma's head whipped over in the direction Audrey pointed for only a few seconds as if she didn't even need to look for long to see what Audrey meant. 

After staring at each other for a eerily calm 30 seconds or so, they both opted to swim into the seagrass and try to find the light. It was mostly due to curiosity and the fact that they were doing nothing to get out of this situation and now they were doing something. Audrey didn't tell Uma this because she didn't want to seem stupid in case she was wrong, but if this was a type of spell, then perhaps it had some sort of physicial object attached to it to maintain it. All spells had object attachments. From charms to the casters themselves. Audrey did not beat Uma down to the grass, noticing her finally getting a grip on her new self and gliding through the water effortlessly. Audrey plunged into the grass patch in an attempt to locate the light, hoping it hadn't been a fluke. They had both seen it though so if there was nothing there ultimately, Audrey would assume that they had both gone crazy simultaneously. She dragged her palms across the sand blindly before snagging on something and slowly wrapping each finger around it, keen to not let it go.

"Got something?"

Audrey shrugged as she pulled her hand out of the grass and surely enough in her palm rested a shiny and rather large seashell. It was beautiful. The shimmering surface seemed to pulse as it glittered and shift like it was alive. The shell was about as large as her entire palm, but then again she had small hands. It looked a lot like something she had seen before. "This looks familiar. Maybe I've seen it in class or s-"

"It looks like the shell on my n- On my mother's necklace. Just like it." Audrey gripped it with her fingers and rotated it slowly as if she could find something on it. She opened her mouth to respond, but before she could Uma lifted a massive tentacle and wrapped the end of it around the shell, pulling it from her hands with great ease. She then proceeded to grip the shell tighter and tighter until the pressure made the shell crack and the tentacle folded with the shift in surface. Bits of the shell floated to the ground, no longer a brilliant gold and a dull pale pink instead. "Why would you break it? We could've...I don't know, analysed it. It was clearly an object attachment."

"I don't know what that is, but I do know that was not my mom's shell. It was some...replica or duplicate."

"I basically just said that! I mean that it obviously w-" She paused as she began to notice light hazily travelling through the water. Audrey craned her neck upward for a perfect view of the surface. "Rain."

"What are you talking about?"

She limply pointed a finger up to the obviously perfectly clear skies, however disfigured by the waves they were. "The rain. While I still don't think it was a good idea, it seems like whatever you did to that shell...worked." Audrey tilted her head to the side, letting her mind drift off into the sun, a bright white circle dancing in the water like the star it was. It was easy for her to become lost in thought when she went diving. That was why she did it. She practically jumped out of her skin at the touch of a hand on her wrist. "That's all good and well, but if my memory serves me correctly, which it always does, you're about to be running on empty soon."

They were able to reach the surface as if nothing had happened. The land also took the liberty of looking like nothing had happened. Gil and Harry came running towards the water as they swam to the shore. As they both climbed onto the ledge, Uma seemed happy to sit in shallow water, contemplating what had just happened. Harry slid straight into the water without a single ounce of hesitation, splashing water up next to Audrey, much to her annoyance before he sat down next to Uma. "You…you're fully clothed." 

She stared at Harry in general shock as she stood up and pulled off her oxygen tank. 

"Last time I checked, yes. Problem with that?"

"You'll be soaking wet. In my car. You know what? Nevermind." She crouched down to remove her fins and stumble to shore, still in shock over the storm. "Hey guys, what happened to the storm? It just stopped. I had to stop Harry from getting in the water because I remembered that one time I saw that woman get electrocuted. Do you remember Uma?" Uma glared at Harry as she slid closer to dry land. "I don't know how often I tell you this, but you could've died."

"Maybe." Audrey stared at the two and tilted her head. Harry smiled at Uma with a lopsided grin and Uma looked right back, straight-faced. She looked between the two of them and felt a twinge of something sad tug at her. Ben never loved her that much. He was nice to her and he would've been worried if she was trapped at sea in a storm, but the last thing he'd do was die for her. "Let's get back to the car." Now that Audrey really thought on it, Ben was unlikely to die for anyone. She could tell that he just didn't have it in him. She'd not seen death before, but somehow she could tell.

The drive back to Auradon Prep was loud and exciting and disruptive. For a moment she had almost forgotten she put 3 VKs in her car. They were so...different. Their antics, making fun of people walking down sidewalks, telling Isle stories, complaining about classes, were all like nothing else she had ever experienced. Audrey found herself actually laughing and smiling for the first time in ages. It wasn't for show or to be spiteful either. Just a simple, genuine smile over some simple fun. They all went their separate ways after arriving back on campus and the light airy feeling was quickly replaced by her usual dull, weighted feeling in the center of her chest. Audrey sauntered back to her room and fell on her bed, allowing the disappointment of being alone again to seep in. She stared at the ceiling, thinking of nothing until her phone began to buzz rather aggressively for the first time in a long time. Nimble fingers gripped the device quickly and she unlocked it to examine her new notifications. 

'Uma has created a Chat.'

'You have been added to the Group by Uma.'

'Uma has added Harrison Hook.'

'Uma has added Gil LeGume.'

'See More Notifications.'

Audrey blinked at the screen in confusion for a moment before something occurred to her. She had...friends. Perhaps friends was a strong word. She didn't think in wise logically to find herself getting carried away. They were acquaintances. Associates even. Still, logic couldn't stop an invisible force from tugging at the corner of her mouth to form a smile yet again. They may have been undesirable to most people she knew, but she was already an outcast and she began to see so much more clearly without the filter of everyone else's thoughts. She didn't like them because she had to or because she was desperate or because she had an angle. She liked these people because they were genuine. A tiny little detail that Audrey had been missing from her life for a good long while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Audrey chapter. Also of course the title is a bit of a switch up on that old saying "Two's Company and Three is a Crowd" Anyways...Happy Holidays to you all even though I've missed practically all of them as I post this. 
> 
> Audrey has...friends? Or does she? Either way it seems like she's a little more happy about it than she'd like to admit. What do you think of the little development at the end of the chapter? Who do you think is out to get Uma? Or is this even about Uma?
> 
> Also...that moment when even Audrey can tell Harry loves Uma without even thinking that hard.
> 
> Sorry for the long breaks between updates! Writer's Block am I right? Still, hold faith in knowing I won't be abandoning this baby until it's done, no matter how long I take between updates!
> 
> Thank you for your patience and as always, Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	20. Know Me Please

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Uma start talking. Uma also ends up talking to someone else.

It had been 3 days since the whole storm debacle. No one really seemed to know what went on there and afterwards, it went back to normal. Or whatever this place was. No matter how long Uma stayed, 5 weeks, or 5 months, or 5 years, this place would never become normal for her. Not looking around every corner and over her shoulder every few minutes would never become normal to her. It would never sit right or feel natural. Running about with constant adrenaline in her veins was natural. This was...a facade. "So can you tell me more about kids that are your age on the Isle?" Uma looked up and pierced the person across from her with those big brown eyes. Ben. 

She had been commencing the talking with Ben over the last few days for the knowledge of the Isle's conditions that he had been searching after for half a year to no avail. Jay pretended to be hardened, but clammed up at the mere thought of his father and the endless shop work and the reminder that for a period in time his only friends were the rats. Carlos was...quiet. He always had been. Uma knew he couldn't bring himself to peep a word about his mother because that was the way he had always been. He never moved too fast or talked too loud. Carlos was always right behind his mother, choke collar fastened tight, tail between his legs. Even when his mother was nowhere to be found. Evelyn was in denial. She had made it. She was the girl she had been trained to become all her life. Talking to Ben and looking back on over a decade of imprisonment would shatter that illusion and force her to deal with the fact that she had it bad too. Just as bad as any of them. Then there was Mal. Mal wouldn't talk to Ben about the Isle unless someone spelled her to and Uma would bet her favorite sword on that. Not necessarily because it was scary for her (it was) or because of the danger, but because once she started talking, it would become so easy to see what kind of person she is. Or was, depending upon who you ask. All the things that she had ever done to everyone else were the first things Mal talked about when bringing up home. Not what had been done to her. What she had done to everyone else. She would never show that side of her face to Ben. So Ben, in his blinded state, desperate to know more about the Isle outside of rumors and statistics, came to Uma. Uma was more than happy to talk. In fact, Uma had expected he wanted to talk and she had prepared for that scenario. Sitting and chatting with Mr. Perfect over tea wasn't her favorite method to bring about change, but was one she had considered. She remembered how tired she was after the announcement, going around the Isle to her own people and to anyone else who...was willing to talk to her and asking them to tell her their story. She never begged, it wasn't in her nature to, but she had gotten anecdote after anecdote into a tiny, what used to be a book with old words long faded into becoming illegible and remaining words covered up to make way for new ones. The people in this book wanted someone to tell their stories. One boy who couldn't have been older than 10, asked if his story would be important. Isle kids, from her experience, seemed to have this thing about wanting somebody to remember them. Just one single person to hear their name or see their face and know who they were. In a place where newborns weren't always expected to make it 3 months, it became a subconscious desire for all of them. 'Know me.' 

"That's a broad question Ben. Just like not every kid your age is a king." He blinked a few times in realisation, pressing his palms into the table. She found it funny how seriously he took everything she said. "You're right. Of course. You're right. I'm sorry. What abo-" He was always absolutely mortified to say something wrong and bring offense. How pleasantly Auradonian of him. The corner of her lip upturned and she scoffed, pinky wrapped around a loose strand of hair. "It was just a statement. Calm down. Some of us live with our parents, some don't, some don't speak to another soul, some are always with someone else, some are parents, some aren't. It's a wide range and if I had to think, none of the VKs our age are more likely to live one way and shun the other. Lots of overlap. Write that." Ben nodded vigorously, pressing his pen that was engraved with golden roses and silver bears into his notebook. When they had first started, he offered to record their sessions on his laptop, but Uma had refused. He wrote it or he remembered it. No technology allowed. In fact, she made him put his phone on the table face up at every meeting so far just to be sure. "How does someone who's not even an adult become somebody's...parent? I just, how do they look after them? It doesn't seem...I don't know. I'm sorry."

"Okay it's been 3 days of this and if you don't stop apologising we get nowhere. I'll tell you when you've messed up. Here's a hint: It hasn't happened quite yet." He was so jumpy and anxious, afraid that everything he said was wrong or rude. She found it funny considering he was a king and all. Uma continued, telling the story of a baby she helped deliver and his mother. Unfortunately, she had delivered more babies than she ever planned to in her lifetime. She had hoped to deliver zero, but no such luck. The mother in that story was the child of a lesser known villain because they were everywhere. She had been 14 and a nervous little bird too. "I think a lot of us, are desperate to find something to umm...I can't quite find the word."

"Love?"

"Yeah. That works. No one is born evil. Or, at least I've never seen it. VKs are just looking for some way to express their emotions. She, the girl, was so happy to have a baby of her own. A lot of VKs don't even realise they're looking to express those feelings. Fear, simple joy, compassion, the other ones. We're told from day one that those are weak and wrong and likely to get us killed. Still, that doesn't mean we just forget them. Not all of us do. I think that's enough for today."

"Wait. What happened to the girl?"

"She's apart of my crew now and her baby is bound to be 2 soon. That girl was born to be a pirate." That story had a happy ending, but she had stressed it to Ben after every story she told, not many of them do. She stood from the table and nodded at Ben. "I'm gonna get going. I'll be seeing you." As soon as she turned and began to walk to the exit of his office, she heard footsteps behind her. "I'll walk with you." She rolled her eyes, strolling out the doors. "Not necessary. I don't always walk, but I assure you, when I do I can walk just fine." When she turned, he was at her side, walking right along with her. "I'm sure you do, but I figured we could talk as people and not diplomats for a minute. So Cotillion is right around the corner. This Sunday even. Are you going?" 

"To your little dance that the kids chatter about in the halls? No."

"W- Well why not? It's a fun dance and it happens every year. A bunch of boring royal stuff happens too, but it's a party at its core. Who doesn't like parties?"

"Trust me. Once you've been to a pirate's party, all others dull in comparison. Besides, can't say I'm the dressup type."

"You should come anyway! Everyone is invited. I wouldn't want you to feel like you couldn't come." Uma stopped and looked up at Ben, arms crossed. "Why does it matter if the VKs come? To prove that all of this work you're doing that no one has faith in has a point? Clever. And yet, I can't bring myself to throw on some fancy outfit for any king."

"But-"

"I hope your party goes well. Really." She picked up the pace and walked off before Ben could respond. She didn't feel like going to some silly dance and in fact, maybe while everyone was gone she'd take a nap. "Uma. Wait." If it had been any other person, she would've audibly groaned and rolled her eyes dramatically. She didn't, however, because it was Carlos. She couldn't really be mean to Carlos. The boy didn't appear to have a mean bone in his body. It would be wrong on some level to be mean to a person like him. Perhaps that was why he struggled so much before coming here. She stopped in the middle of the painting lined halls, arms crossed, remaining still and waiting patiently. "Uma. You've been...talking with Ben right? About the VKs?"

"Who wants to know?"

"Me. I do. I wanted to ask you something." His voice didn't waver a bit as he spoke and he stood straight and tall, always seeming certain of what he wanted to say. Maybe this place was good for people like them. Here he was, asking a question for himself and not Mal or Evie or anyone else. Carlos was here for Carlos. That was new. He looked down for a split second, sharply inhaling. "Can I tell you my story? So you can tell Ben." There was a stillness to him after he spoke his request. A stillness that didn't read as fear or false strength. He was just unmoving, waiting for a response. As if he were a tree, docile and understanding. "I mean...I can. If that's what you really want."

"It is. I do. I just can't tell him myself. It's not the same as talking to you or Jay or anyone else from the Isle. You know what I mean. I don't think I can handle that look of hurt from someone who's never had to hurt a day in their life." Uma shrugged, as she did know. After every story Ben got this sad, stunned look in his eyes. He was shocked every time. It was genuine every time. His brain was preparing to apologise, but the events she spoke of had long passed. There was no one to apologise to. That realisation seemed to bother him just as much as the stories. Someone was suffering and he couldn't do anything and now, it was just a story. "Yeah. I do know. How did you know about me and Ben?"

"Evie told us. She is his advisor after all. She wasn't supposed to tell us, but she did. I have something else for you." The boy delicately reached into his pocket and pulled forth two envelopes, holding them out to her. They both carried different handwriting on the front, reading 'Evie' on one in adorable pseudo-cursive font and 'Jay' on the other in rigid, neat handwriting. "What are these? Mal pleased?"

"Mal. We didn't tell her. It's you and you and Mal sort of go...off even at the sound of each other's names. I knew she wouldn't let you tell her story."

"But you three would?"

"It's not about us being friends or not. It's about the fact that we want Ben to know and you...get it. We don't have to be friends or hang out or even talk after this. We just wanted Ben to know because he's our friend, but i-"

"But you couldn't tell him yourself because that's different." She looked down at the letters still being offered to her and took them. Carlos audibly sighed as they exchanged hands. "Appreciate it. I didn't write a letter because I hadn't decided what I wanted to say. I guess I wanna say everything?" Uma skeptically raised a brow at his statement, doubtful he'd really want to tell his whole tale. "Bear traps and all?"

"...Bear traps and all."

"Well. Let's get to writing because just from what I've heard back home, this'll be a long story." She pretended to ignore it, but it was somehow rewarding to see the look of accomplishment flood Carlos' face after her agreement. They were on opposing sides, but Mal's gang wasn't undeserving of a basic favor. Except for maybe their leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...that chapter dealt quite a bit in Isle kid mentality. That crippling fear of being forgotten. 
> 
> We also get to see Uma be quite nice. As Ben said before, she is a bit of a humanitarian. I thought that logically, Uma wouldn't be so cold as to turn someone like Carlos away. Which is likely why Evie and Jay sent him. Uma may not be friends with any of them, but even she wouldn't hang them out to dry for just a simple request.
> 
> Oh yeah! Next chapter is a bit more lighthearted. So thank goodness for that right? It's a Harry chapter.
> 
> Do you think Uma will end up going to Cotillion anyway? If she doesn't, what will she do instead?
> 
> I'll be seeing you all in another month or so!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!


	21. Expectations Halved

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry Chapter! The gang spends a bit of quality time together before things go a tad sideways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy howdy this chapter is a long one in comparison to the others. It went through so many different drafts and alterations and finally ended up landing on 3,000+ words! Hope you like it!

"What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Uma."

"Well that's just grand. Have a seat on the floor there. You can join the club." Harry polished his hook with his shirt, not even looking up as he spoke. He knew Audrey was standing in the door, likely with her arms crossed, glaring at nothing. "But she said she would be back by now. I wonder what's keeping her."

"As do we. Seems to me like you're out of luck."

"My dress just got here though. I was going to have her take a look. It seems pretty silly now, I don't even know if I'm still going to Cotillion after all...that." He scoffed and looked up finally at Audrey, still standing in the doorway of their dorm in the exact position he had imagined. "Can we see?" They both turned their heads toward Gil in sync after he spoke. He sat on his bed across the room, deeply invested in some book he couldn't pronounce because it was in French. He stared at Audrey, bright-eyed and patiently awaiting an answer. He honestly expected Audrey to turn up her nose and say 'No, of course not!' and cross her arms like a snooty little princess. He actually didn't have much issue with Audrey at all. It was just fun to act like he did sometimes. The other princesses he'd met were scared of him or found him attractive which was a spectrum he was willing to take. Not Audrey of course. She always fussed at him and the longer they hung out, the more sly ways she found to poke fun at him and by the time he realized it everyone else was usually already laughing. In all honesty she sort of reminded him of one of his sisters. She wasn't made of the grit that those girls were constructed from, but she was some variant of it. He wouldn't admit this yet because it seemed strange to see such a thing in an Auradonian. Harry was taught and had seen that they were all one way. Apparently not all of them. "Sure. Why not? Sound like a plan Harrison?"

"I keep telling you, no one calls me that ever."

"I do. Field trip to my room! Don't leave your key." The only one to present more than casual excitement was Gil, following along energetically. Harry took great notice to the effort Gil was going to just to learn about...everything. Even things he thought trivial or unimportant, Gil seemed to know at least one thing about. "What colors are you guys wearing to Cotillion?" Harry subconsciously took up the position of looking back and forth down the halls while Audrey unlocked her door, back facing away. "Colors? Can't say we'd planned on going." They all filed into the room and Audrey spun with complete shock on her face, eyes wide open. "You guys aren't going? But...I'll be by myself." She looked positively dejected and the excitement slid off her face like oil on water. Harry squinted down at her and placed a hand atop her head, turning and facing her towards the bathroom with relative ease. "Go put on your dress." She inhaled sharply, ready to protest as she typically did because as Harry began to realise, she wasn't Audrey if she wasn't fussing over something. "Do not argue with me. Go put it on." 

After what felt like 20 minutes, Harry became uncertain if Audrey was just not keen on coming out of the bathroom or if dresses actually took that long to put on. Dresses weren't an extremely popular pick on the Isle for obvious reasons. They were just in the way of everything. He actually could count the amount of people he'd seen in a long dress on one hand. Gil sat on the floor and Harry dragged the chair from Audrey's vanity to the center of the room. "Uma's just told me she's on her way over here. She said she figured we would all be together by this point. Lost without her, or so she claims." Harry leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, genuinely confused about what he was doing in general. He didn't know what Uma was doing, only that it was something with which he was unable to help. He could fight, intimidate, and almost never negotiate. There was something about trying to be pleasant and agreeable in situations that just never went his way. Hence why Uma had told him to merely worry about the effort of not getting sent back to the Isle just by dealing with Auradon. He was actually still doing his classes by himself and that was mainly due to the fact that when Dr. Lionhart asked him if he was ready to return to his normal classes, he said no. He didn't think that she'd actually consider what he had to say and she did. Harry wondered if she took into account everything he said. He had told this woman things he'd only told himself and sometimes he figured he may be under a spell making him act foolishly. 

"Your meeting ran long." Gil was up and at the door before Harry even noticed it had made a sound. Lost in thought. "Yeah. Ben. He talks a lot." 

"Oh does he? I'd like to chat with him."

"No. You would not. It's actually one of the most boring parts of my day. She in the bathroom?" Gil nodded vigorously and closed the door behind Uma. She elbowed him, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a tiny, thin paper. Or at least that's what it looked like from where Harry sat. When she handed it to Gil it made a tiny rattling sound and in Gil's hand it was no bigger than his palm. Harry couldn't make out what it was, even considering that they were only a couple of feet away. Yet, Gil's face lit up in the way everyone liked to see when he properly examined the paper. "Thank you!" Gil automatically went into a bear hug, squeezing Uma, which she allowed for a few seconds before Gil knew when it was too long and let go. "Take care of them now Gil. I'm serious."

"I will! Promise." Gil sat back on his spot on the floor, glued to his tablet even more than before while Uma approached Harry, resting her elbow atop his head and standing beside him. "What was that all about then?"

"They're flowers. Or they will be if Gil does it right. They're just seeds now." Harry smirked at the thought of what Uma had to go through to actually get them considering she knew next to nothing about flowers except that they died easily and that Gil liked them. She never seemed to forget tiny details like that. Harry was absolutely sure Uma remembered something about him that he had long forgotten. "Hey. D-"

"Well? Verdict please everyone. Uma you're here! Sorry I had to make the boys into my judges." Audrey burst from the bathroom in a tea length, pale pink dress with a modest neckline stopping right underneath her collarbone, and a strange add on to the fabric that made it subtly shimmer with every step she took. "Yes? No? Maybe? Audrey it's terrible, take it off?" 

"It looks fine chick. Hush your yapping.You're wearing that on Sunday?" Harry was the first to speak and even when he did, he sounded disinterested simply he didn't know how to look like he cared about dresses. It was actually pretty. It looked soft and light and expensive. Fit for a princess. "Thank you Harry. Don't hush me. Uma. Are you not going on Sunday?"

"To the thing? No."

"Why not? I'll be by myself. What is wrong with you people?" Harry poked Uma's hip playfully and scoffed. "Yeah Uma. She'll be all by her lonesome. It'll be a damn tragedy. But she forgets we're Isle."

"Don't patronise me Hook!" Uma raised a hand, signaling them to both stop fussing as she thought. "I mean I hadn't planned on it. I told his royal majesty that I wasn't going to his stupid party even if he smiled and said, 'But please?' I'd probably still avoid it." He and Audrey both stared at Uma as she spoke in astonishment. Audrey cleared her throat and spoke before Harry could. "Wait. Ben asked you if you'd be going? You have to go now! That's like...the most important invite ever. Also I know Ben. He wouldn't have asked if he didn't really want you there." Harry looked up at Uma, unsurprised, but something somewhere in his gut wanted him to just go sock His Royal Majesty clean in his throat. No. That'd probably kill him. Poor plan. "That's a wonderful speech lass. I'm sure the king is used to people telling him yes, but do we quite look the type to go to such a thing? To crash it maybe. Or to watch everyone run for cover like little mice. Not as guests."

"Harry. You're ruining my sales pitch! I will pay for you and Gil to wear fancy outfits. As a matter of fact...come here." Audrey, in her everlasting flow of energy grabbed Uma by the arm which did make him instinctively tense up, but he calmed down when he looked at Uma, looked around him, and there was no problem to be found. No danger. This wasn't the Isle. Uma was calm and so was he. Harry was calm. "Put on one of my dresses. One of the ones I got and never wore please!" It was easy to look at Auradon and know it wasn't the Isle, but something inside seemed to be stuck. As if he were a machine malfunctioning. 

Harry only further encouraged the happenstance of Uma in a dress, much to her annoyance which he received in the form of angry glances. Gil put the flower research from his tablet on pause to wait and watch. Neither one of them had ever seen Uma in a dress. Come to think of it, according to her, Uma had never seen Uma in a dress. They thought they'd die on that island. That meant Uma would've been able to escape being shoved into a dress by a hyperactive princess for as long as she lived. No such luck on that front.

"Okay...and look at her! It's such a cute dress. I just got...I ended up not going to the event I was supposed to wear it for." Gil saw her first and his reaction was an appropriate one. "You look so pretty! It's weird to see you in a dress. Who invented dresses? They seem so silly." When Harry looked up, Uma had on a vibrant, cerulean dress that draped off the shoulders, opened into the classic fluffy ball gown silhouette, and was decorated with small indigo flowers wrapped around the waistline and scattered across the bodice.

The material seemed light as air and he figured it probably contributed to the dress' shape. The skirt was fluffy at the bottom and legs disappeared right underneath it, but the top was form fitting and there weren't really sleeves to speak of aside from the same light fabric of the skirt draped across the top of her arms. She looked like those princesses that they used to make fun of on the deck of the Lost Revenge while sharpening their swords and planning their next heist. And yet, "Well, if I was wearing a hat, I figure I'd have to remove it. You look an absolute vision. In fact, am I allowed to look? Seems too powerful for my mortal eyes. Perhaps I should look away." 

Uma's response was as it always was. Her eyes would shimmer, the corner of her lips would begin to form a smile, and then she would roll her eyes and wave her hand dismissively. "Harry you were always one for the melodrama. Audrey. I can't go to this dance." He knew that no one else likely noticed those tiny little adjustments right before she played off a compliment. He knew they meant a lot to her because she expected them. That eternal game of question and answer might discourage a several lads of the normal variety, but it was just enough for him to see her absorb the compliment. To be flattered. It was likely an inconsequential thing to others but not for him. "You can't go? Why not?"

"Well Audrey, I believe she's fearful that she'll outshine all of those Boreadon brats at this little...party."

"It's not just a party. It's...Mal getting formally presented as a Lady of the Court. I want to be there." Gil directed his attention to Audrey, tilting his head for a split second before one of his ignorant and well meaning, yet terribly insensitive comments fell out. "But won't that just make you feel bad? Shouldn't that have been you? Maybe you shouldn't go." Uma eyed Gil which made him realize that perhaps he had spoken out of turn. They both knew the look well by this point. Audrey began to tug at strands of her hair before clearing her throat. "You're not wrong. But I'm still going. Call me a glutton for punishment I guess. So you 3 have to come. The dress is perfect for you and it's a shame I never wore it. Someone has to!" Harry looked back at the dress and Uma and the longer he looked the more he noticed how elegant she looked. And how small. And how dainty. And fragile. How the thought began to pervade his mind...of how easy it would be to do what his father had wanted ever since he lost the race to Uma. Ever since he'd "embarrassed" him. He didn't want that. He'd never want that. Plus, anyone with a brain could easily see that his father's hatred of him had begun long ago. Still, the notion even crossing his mind made him feel a certain sort of disconcertion. Mainly directed towards himself. "It might be best if I step out for just a bit. I'll be back." There must have been an entire conversation going on that he'd tuned out because when he made his announcement, three pairs of eyes turned his way. "Where are you off to in such a hurry? Problem?" Uma gathered the fabric at the front of her dress with a heavy hand, a telltale sign that despite her current appearance, she was no princess and closed the gap between them. "Just out. For a few. No problem."

"Yeah? You can't exactly wander around aimlessly. Don't get yourself into trouble Harry." He had actually been looking off to the side, at the door before he slowly turned and looked down at Uma. With her barefoot and sinking into the carpet, there was nearly a perfect head of height between them. He could see the concern on her face. The way she knitted her brows together and her thoughts all raced behind her eyes, tumbling like a stormy sea. She knew something was wrong. She didn't know what. Harry had absolutely no intention of telling her what. "It is my specialty."

"Don't joke. I don't want you in more trouble after what happened with that kid's nose." She got even closer. "Please. That has been dealt with for ages now and with all due respect, it's not your job to keep me out of trouble." That. That came out wrong. With that, her facial expression changed altogether. She didn't just read as shocked, but also just generally offended. He never talked to her as such. The snarky, undermining tone was reserved for people lesser, like his wharf rats. Not The Captain. He knew why it came out like that. Part of his brain knew what she meant about him being a magnet for trouble. The other part felt belittled by her implication that without her he'd be in nothing but trouble. That part stole the dialogue. He wasn't a child in constant need of being minded. "Harry. Are you alright?" Gil stood and fiddled with his necklace as he muttered his question off to the side. "Just mind your own you bampot."

"I get that you're going through it right now. Things are different. It's hard. It's hard on us all. Still, I'll be damned if that gives you the right to be short with Gil or anyone else for that matter."

"Aye. You mean you? You get it yes? Sorry if it's put a damper on everything." Even still, his hands were pressed right by his side, hook slowly piercing through his pant leg and nudging at his skin. She noticed. There were a lot of differences between the two of them, but one big one was anger. His was explosive to the point where he'd toss tables and scream his curses to the high heavens when missions went wrong back home. Hers was slow to build and overflowed in brief outbursts. She might raise her voice, but it was rare to see her fully yell, which only happened if pressed enough. "Just...go." He knew a many person that would take a step or three back if Harry implied that the thought of hooking them was on his mind, but she stood about five inches away from him with not an ounce of fear on her face. "Thank you."

Then he left, as fast as possible. Ignoring Gil's hurt expression and Audrey's absolute shock. After he thanked Uma, he hadn't the nerve to see what her facial expression was like. Disappointed. Pissed off. He said things he shouldn't have. He said things that he never imagined he'd say to Uma of all people. He dislodged his hook as it had slowly been making a hole in his upper thigh. He dragged the bright red edge across his shirt to clean it. He didn't yell, but that didn't mean he hadn't threatened them. Insulted them. Insulted his family. Maybe this place wasn't any good for someone like him.

He wasn't Gil. He wasn't sweet and kind and willing to learn. He wasn't Uma. Harry wasn't charming and clever, quick to pretend. Harry was Harry. He couldn't pretend and he sucked so far at learning. If he couldn't do either, then perhaps he should go back home. 

"Oh wow. Doctor? You answered. Yes it is only four in the afternoon. I just figured you wouldn't answer. Can I talk to you about something soon?" As he hung up, looking down at the simple phone screen he considered it.

" Just text Gil. Say sorry. You didn't mean it. You don't think he's stupid. Talk to Uma." That might be a bit harder to deal with considering how much of an ass he just was for nothing.

As he thought this, his hands weren't really quick to move. His eyed just stayed glued to the screen until it went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you can forgive me. So. Harry and Uma got into a bit of an argument. And right before Cotillion too.
> 
> Now of course, it may have seemed trivial and short, but let's not forget that, they're teenagers and they both have had a lot of building stress recently. From Harry's perspective when Uma said he was a beacon for trouble, he felt it implied that he was the problem, thus prompting his response. We know that's not what she meant, but delivery could've been better on both parts.
> 
> Also, if you were wondering, "bampot" is Scottish slang that basically means idiot. So, yeah you can see why Uma reacted so quickly. Nobody calls our Sunshine Boy dumb.
> 
> Sorry for leading you into a dark corner under the guise of dress try on sweetness and the thought of our gang at Cotillion. I'll fix the fallout soon.
> 
> Anyways, how did the chapter hit for you? Let me know!
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos!

**Author's Note:**

> In case you couldn't guess what the chapter title was referring to, it was the TV. So creative, I know. I'm thinking of titling each chapter after something that will make an appearance in the chapter. Not unlike a television series I suppose. What be the fortune? So this will be my first multichapter fanfiction in actual ages, but I'm beyond excited to get back into it! 
> 
> This chapter was just laying the groundwork and warming my fingers back up again. I think Gil isn't utilised nearly enough as he could be so that's why I decided to make this entire chapter from Gil's P.O.V. I also wanted to establish a sort of big sister/mother type of relationship with Uma and Gil because I just find that adorable. The plot of this literally consists of King Ben doing what he said he would do in a timely manner. I mean seriously...I always found the fact that they had been away from the Isle for 6 months ridiculous. Without Ben and his people even starting to formulate some sort of waiting list for more kids. Nonsense. Anyhow, we'll see how the Isle reacts to the news.
> 
> Please feed the Author in comments and kudos! 
> 
> I love to hear what you lot think and I always love to take people comments into consideration when moving forward!


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